Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 4: Air
by AangKatara777
Summary: LAST CHAPTER! The gaang is now ready to face Kang-Dae, but what will happen when they fight him again? Cheesy summary, hopefully a good story. Anyone who clicks on this has officially gained my love. Ending pairings! Starts where the show left off! Enjoy.
1. Prologue

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Book 4

Air

_Prologue_

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***_

**Ceremonial Plaza , Fire Nation Royal Palace (late evening)**

"Shouldn't something have happened by now!? That huge light flew into the sky awhile ago! They should be back by now! What if something happened to them!" Katara muttered to herself while pacing back and forth. Zuko shook his head from his seat on the floor.

"Katara," Zuko said in a firm tone, "It's only been half and hour. I'm sure they're on their way back right now. Stop panicking. You're starting to worry me." He painfully stood up and walked up to her putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay."

"Half an hour _is _a long time!" Katara yelled, but then went into silence. "I'm sorry, but, I'm just so worried. Aang could be hurt. Maybe we didn't even win…" she stated, trailing off at the end. She looked down at her feet.

"Katara, don't think like that," Zuko said, lifting her chin up to face him, "Aang didn't lose. We won this war. I'm sure of it." He gave her a reassuring smile, but she turned away.

"How can you be so sure?" Katara asked, slightly turning her head to him.

"Because I know him," Zuko began, "Even in the short time I've been friends with him, I've seen that he has the willpower to win this war. Plus, he also knows he has to protect someone." Zuko gave a small smile and Katara looked at him in confusion.

"What do you-?" Katara began to ask as she slowly realized what he meant_. Aang wanted to protect me? Well, sure I know he has a crush on me, but does he really like me that much? _She thought. She began to blush madly at the thought.

Zuko began to laugh.

"What?" Katara asked, highly confused. _This can't be right. Zuko shouldn't laugh. It's. Just. Not. Right. _

"If it took you that long to figure out that he likes you, you're an idiot." He said, continuing to laugh. Katara blushed even more madly.

"Hey!" She yelled, "I knew he had a crush on me! Just…I didn't know he liked me… _that _much!" Zuko kept laughing. Katara wanted to push him down and kick him repeatedly to get him to stop, but she decided against it. He is injured anyway; it wouldn't be a good idea to open the wounds.

Soon, Zuko's laughter died down as he suddenly stared off in the distance with a giant smile plastered onto his face. The teen pointed off at the sky, causing Katara to _have _to look. She turned and her eyes widened, also getting the giant smile across her face.

The large warship flew into view, as well as the waving hands of Sokka, Toph, and Suki. The ship landed in the middle of the arena and as soon as it touched the ground, the waterbender was off. Running like crazy to the ship carrying her friends. Zuko followed along at his own pace, slowly catching up to Katara.

The door of the ship opened with a loud creak, creating a loud thud as it hit the ground of the arena. Sokka, Katara's brother, came out of the large warship with the help of Suki and Toph.

"What happened?!" Katara asked in panic as she looked at her brother's broken and bandaged leg. She quickly kneeled down and started to examine it.

"Oh, nothing major, I just fought through hundreds, no, thousands of firenation soldiers, taking them each out by one swing of my mighty space sword." Sokka said, taking an attempted proud and confident stance. Suki gave him an "I can't believe I'm dating you" look while shaking her head.

"I meant how'd you break your leg…" Katara said, giving him a very irritated look.

"Oh, yes, my leg. Well, I broke it while doing that fighting. After taking out those thousands of soldiers, I happened to trip on one of the bodies…uh, plummeting me to the ground and—," Sokka began, but was cut off by Suki's hand covering his mouth.

"He fell off of an airship onto another airship, landing on his leg and breaking it." Suki said, still annoyed with her boyfriend.

"Aw, come on, Suki! She was starting to believe it! I could tell!" Sokka complained, glaring sarcastically at Suki. Katara giggled at Sokka's sarcasm, but she realized something. _Where's Aang?_

She quickly stood up and looked around. _Shouldn't he have come out by now?! _Sokka, Suki, and Toph walked up to Zuko and started talking. Katara looked at the airship door. No one was coming out. She slowly walked forward, still looking panicked.

She suddenly heard footsteps coming from the ship. Her eyes widened as she looked upon the figure coming towards her. The figure walked into the light and smiled his goofy smile.

It was Aang.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Katara's face instantly lit up as she saw the young avatar walk slowly down the ramp. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to hug him. She ran as fast as she could towards him, arms spread wide. Aang stopped and smiled, also opening his arms for the hug.

She practically jumped on him, sending the boy back a bit. She clung to him as if she was falling off a cliff. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the embrace.

"I was so worried! You scared me to death!" Katara whispered to him.

"I'm sorry," was all that the airbender said. Katara silently cried in joy that he was safe.

After about a minute, Katara let go of Aang and looked at him with a smile. Her smile quickly faded into rage and she pushed him to the floor. Aang's eyes widened at the suddenly furious teenager.

"Wh-Why did you do that?!" Aang managed to stutter out.

"**DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE LIKE THAT AGAIN! I THOUGHT YOU HAD BEEN CAPTURED OR KILLED! I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!"**

Still wide-eyed, the young avatar stood up and embraced Katara tightly. She clung to him tightly as well. Sokka and the others walked up to them smiling, happy that they were all together again. Soon the fire sages came out to take everyone inside.

"Prince Zuko, where would you like your friends to stay while we wait for the day of your coronation?" One of the fire sages asked. Zuko thought for a moment and decided.

"In the first class suites on the upper floor, the ones meant for the highly ranked generals."

"Ok," The fire sages replied, but then to the rest of the gaang, "You can come with me, I will take you to get settled in." The fire sage handed Sokka some crutches and the gaang followed him to the upper floor, while two of the other fire sages went up to Zuko.

"Where is Phoenix King Ozai? Where would you like us to put him?" One of them said.

Zuko replied, "Do not call him Phoenix King any longer, he does not deserve that title anymore. He is in the ship, most likely in the prison chamber. Take him to the prison in the boundaries of the palace, the one where my uncle was put."

The fire sages nodded and ran into the ship to get the ex-Phoenix King Ozai. A few minutes later they came out with Ozai, who was struggling like a wild wolf-bat in a cage. Zuko walked up to his father and frowned.

"How could you do this to your own father! You're a disgrace! A mockery to the entire firenation." Ozai shouted in his face.

"No, father. As of today, _you _are the mockery of the firenation." Zuko said, still with a frown, "The Phoenix King who was beaten by a twelve year old boy, you and Azula are both ridiculous…take him away." The fire sages took the still struggling Ozai away to be placed in the prison. One of the two remaining fire sages ran to grab the now calm Azula from her seat on the arena floor.

"Where do you want her, Prince Zuko?" The fire sage asked.

"Put her in the Boiling Rock. I want her to be put in the cooler any time her temper rises. Not just when she firebends." Zuko said, turning his head away from them. "I never want to see her pathetic face again."

"As you wish, Prince Zuko," said the fire sage as they took her away. Zuko didn't look back until she was gone.

The final fire sage walked up to Zuko and asked, "Would you like me to escort you to the infirmary? Your wound looks very serious."

The firenation prince looked down at his chest and saw the disturbing wound. He had almost forgotten it. Unfortunately, once he saw it the pain returned and he winced. "Yes, please," he said, following the fire sage to the infirmary.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**1****st**** class suites, Upper floor of the Fire Nation Palace**

"Here are your suites, get comfortable. Dinner will be served in an hour." The sage said before walking back down the stairs.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Aang said, shaking the fire sage's hand.

"No thanks necessary, Avatar Aang." He said, smiling. He then left the room, leaving the five teens to their rooms.

"I call the room at the end of the hall!" Sokka yelled happily in his usually high-pitched voice. He went as fast as he could down the hall with his crutches and he dashed in the room. A few seconds later they heard, "Oh! The beds are so comfy!", come from the room. The rest of the teens laughed and entered their rooms.

Suki went to the room across from Sokka's and Toph went into the room next to Suki's. Katara went into the room next to Sokka's and Aang followed into the one next to her. Soon all of the doors were closed as the gaang admired the high-class suites.

In each room, there was a king-sized bed and a small library area. There was even a bathroom (which everyone was very glad to find). Much to Sokka's happiness, there were cabinets in the kitchen stocked with all sorts of snacks. Katara and Suki had settled down to a few romance novels in the libraries and Sokka had taken to eating everything in the cabinets. Toph was in her room picking her toes. Aang had settled into bed for a nice, much-deserved nap.

An hour later, right on schedule came the servants. They kneeled and said, "It is almost time for dinner; we are here to escort you."

"Ok, we are just going to go get our things and we'll be right out." Katara said to them. They nodded and stood up to wait for them.

So Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Suki went to go get their things. They walked out but Katara realized that Aang wasn't there. "I'm gonna go get Aang, I'll be just a second," she said, walking into Aang's room.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

She saw him huddled up under the covers of the bed. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?" she asked him. She noticed he was asleep and gently shook him. He woke up and slowly turned towards her.

"Hey," he said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up, "Do you need anything?"

"Oh, it's just time for dinner so I came to wake you up." Katara said, smiling.

"Oh, wow." Aang said, standing up, "I've been sleeping for a while haven't I."

"Well, you did just defeat the baddest man on the planet," she said, putting both of her hands on his shoulders, "I would be tired too."

Aang smiled and walked to the door. He looked down and realized he didn't have a shirt on because it had gotten ripped off. "Oh, ummm, what should I wear? I don't have any clothes…" he said, blushing.

"Oh, well, I'm sure they have some in that dresser over there." Katara said, pointing to the dresser standing against the wall.

Aang walked over and opened up the drawers. "Too big. Too big. Too big. WAY too big….There's nothing my size here……"

Katara said, "Well, I guess you're going to have to be shirtless."

_But you have no problem with that, Katara, you don't want him to have a shirt. _

_Gah! What am I thinking! I don't like Aang like that._

_Yes, you do._

_No, I don't!_

_Yes, you do._

_No, I don't!_

_Stop lying_

_I'm not lying!_

_Then why are you blushing?_

_Well…_

_Haha! Caught in the act!_

"Katara? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Huh? What?" Katara said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Well, you said I'd have to be shirtless and then I said 'fine' and then you started staring off into space, frowning, and then you started blushing and I am really confused." Aang said, replaying what he saw.

"Oh…hehe, yeah, I was just…thinking." Katara said nervously.

"Oh, okay." Aang said, walking up to the door.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

They both walked out into the hall and were greeted by the two servants kneeling in front of Aang. "Umm, hi?" Aang said, looking at the two servants on the floor. They were carrying some sort of yellow cloth in their hands.

"We were told you had nothing to wear so we went to our 'Greatest Achievements Hall' and found this robe. It was from the Southern Air Temple. That is where you are from, correct?" One of the servants asked.

"Yes, that's where I'm from," Aang said.

"Well, then. Here you are, Avatar Aang." The servant said, handing Aang the clothes.

"Thank you," He said, running into his room to get changed. About a minute later, he came out in his outfit. It was a long-sleeved yellow shirt, much like the one he wore under his old orange shawl, with a little left over going under the belt. On top of the shirt was a faded orange cape-like shawl with a yellow collar. It had long yellow pants and brown shoes and his belt was red.

He smiled and said, "Now let's get something to eat."

The rest of the group agreed and started their way down to the dining room. Sokka was having fun with his crutches using them as a swing, if that makes any sense. Suki was laughing at his playfulness and Toph was kicking a pebble across the floor. Katara couldn't help but ask, "What's the 'Greatest Achievements Hall'?"

One of the servants said, "It is where we keep all of our memories of our greatest achievements. We have many air nation souvenirs there for our great success in destroying the air nomads." The whole group got silent.

Aang was the most silent. He closed his eyes, trying to block the tears from falling from his eyes. Katara's eyes widened and she ran up to Aang to give him a hug. She looked at his face and saw him struggling to keep from crying and whispered, "I'll make him keep quiet, okay?"

Aang simply nodded his head.

Katara turned towards the servant and gave him a glare that could kill. The man reeled back in fear. "Can't you see that's hurting him!? To talk about his people like that!?" she yelled, sending a wave of water at him from her waterskin. He hit the wall and she froze him against it.

She turned back to the rest of the gaang and said, "Now then, where were we?"

She started walking down the hall and everyone else followed. Aang ran up to Katara and whispered, "Thanks for standing up for me."

Katara smiled and said, "What are friends for?"

Aang smiled back and they continued walking down to dinner.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**West Dining Room, Fire Nation Royal Palace**

"We are proud to present the Avatar and his friends, the winners of this hundred-year war, to celebrate with us here in the Fire Nation!" The head fire sage announced. There was a loud applaud from the room.

"Yes! We finally got the love back!" Toph yelled, raising her arms in the air and smiling.

Aang laughed, "Yeah, it's good not to be chased by these people, this may sound weird, but…I feel free."

"Yeah, we've had to live with this war our entire lives. Now, it's like something inside me…has disappeared…something that I've had forever," Katara said.

"Wow," Toph said, "That was seriously deep."

"I couldn't tell if you were saying you liked the war or not, you were saying it like it was something you wanted to keep…" Suki added. Katara's eyes widened.

"No, no!" Katara quickly said, "I hated the war, and I'm so glad it ended. It just, I don't know how to feel without it."

"Oh, okay," Suki said, "Now I understand."

Zuko walked up to them wearing a red and gold robe. "Come on, guys. We're about to eat," he said, smiling.

"Okay," the gaang replied. They took their seats at the table. Katara sat down and Aang dashed to sit next to her, making her blush. Sokka sat next to Suki and Toph went to sit by Zuko.

"Let the end-of-the-war feast begin!" said the fire sage.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Sokka said, grabbing for every single meat product he could find. Chicken-Pig, Cow-Pig, Lizard-Eel, Frogfish, Duck, etc.

Suki slapped her forehead and shook her head in embarrassment. Katara and Aang laughed at the typical couple, but then went into silence.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"So," Katara said, desperately trying to break the silence.

"So?" Aang replied, grabbing a veggie roll from a platter.

"How did your battle go with Ozai? How did you beat him?" Katara asked, grabbing a bowl of noodles.

"Well," Aang said, taking a bite out of his veggie roll, "I took his bending away, it was the only thing I could do to stop him' he was out of control."

Katara's eyes widened. "Took it away? How?"

Aang began to tell her about what happened, "Well, when I went missing, I met a giant lion turtle who taught me about not bending the elements, but bending the energy within ourselves. I'm guessing that was like a billion years ago, but he taught me that by placing my hands on a persons forehead and heart, I can concentrate the energy in their body and turn it into light**—**"

"So _that's _what those light beams were. I had a hunch it was you and I got so worried! What was happening when the whole sky almost turned red?" Katara interrupted.

Aang continued, saying, "Ozai's spiritual energy was temporarily stronger than mine, so it began to take over mine. In the end, my spiritual energy was stronger and Ozai's power was sucked into me."

"Does that mean you're a ton better at firebending now?" Katara asked.

"I guess, I haven't really bent anything since." Aang said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh…," Katara muttered, but then asked, "So what if Ozai _did _take your energy? What would happen then?"

"Oh, I don't know, It was really freaky because when I was taking away Ozai's bending, I heard the lion turtle say '_To bend one's spirit, your own spirit must be unbendable, or else you will be corrupted and destroyed', _I mean, seriously, if he wants me to be 'confident' in this, he wouldn't have told me that." Aang said, imitating the lion turtles voice.

"Destroyed?" Katara asked, growing worried.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now, so." Aang said, looking at Katara's very worried expression.

No wonder I was worried, I knew he had been in trouble

"Yeah…" Katara muttered.

So the night went on, Sokka stuffed himself and there was much laughter. Late at night, the gaang went up to their suites to have a much-deserved night of peace.

"Well, we did it Team Avatar. We ended the war and we are all still alive! Even though a few of us encountered lightning on the way." Sokka said, eyeballing Aang and Zuko. "But we are still alive!"

The group laughed and cheered and finally decided to go to bed.

"Good night, Suki,"

"Good night, Sokka."

"Good night, Katara,"

"Good night, Sokka,"

"Good night, Aang,"

"Good night, Sokka,"

"Good night, Zuko,"

"G'night, Sokka"

"Good night, Toph."

"……"

"Good night? Toph?"

"…….."

"YO TOPH! G'NIGHT!"

"Shut up! Good night!"

"Now I know how annoying I was those few days before the eclipse." Aang whispered to Katara.

Katara quietly giggled and said, "Night, Aang, I hope you get some rest."

"You too,"

They all went to bed peacefully that night. Momo flew into Aang's room and cuddled up against him. All was peaceful and happy.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

The next morning, everyone slept in and was happy about it. Though it made it even harder to get up.

Sokka limped into Katara's room and started whining like a baby without it's bottle. Katara threw her pillow over her head in a futile attempt at blocking out her brother's whines.

"What do you want, Sokka!" Katara ended up yelling.

"I hurt my foot," Sokka whined.

"Yah, it's broken." Katara replied very annoyed.

"No, I mean I hurt it more! I think I twisted it in my sleep because it hurts really really really really really really bad!" Sokka complained.

"What do you want me to do about it?!" Katara asked in an aggressive tone.

"HEAL. IT." Sokka said, now also annoyed.

Katara's eyes shut tight as she realized how stupid she's been lately. She's a healer! She could heal him that whole time!!!

Yeah, smart one

_Oh, you stay out of this, stupid_

_You're the one who forgot you could heal, and your calling __**me **__stupid?_

_Yes, Yes I am_

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sokka, somehow my brain forgot I could heal," Katara said, embarrassed.

"It's okay," Sokka replied. He sat down on Katara's bed and laid out his foot. Katara got up, yawned, stretched, and walked across the room to get her waterskin. She walked back with it and took the water out. Soon the blue glow filled the room and the purified water began to heal Sokka's foot.

"It won't heal all the way because we've waited so long, but within a few days of healing it should be better. As long as you don't twist it again in your sleep." Katara said while healing parts of his foot.

Soon, Sokka stood up and limped around the room. "Well, it's definitely better than it was. Thank you, Katara."

Katara smiled and said, "You're welcome."

She laid back down as Sokka left the room, using only one of the crutches. She yawned and closed her eyes as she gently drifted off to sleep**—**

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

Katara groaned as she slid out of bed and walked to the door. "Whhaaattttt…" She whined as she approached the door.

"Katara?" came the voice on the other side.

"Aang? What is it?" Katara asked, opening the door.

"My back hurts," Aang said; he was in obvious pain.

"Your back? As in your scar?" Katara asked, getting worried. _Why would his back be hurting?_

Aang simply nodded and Katara led him into her room. He sat down on her bed and she sat behind him. She got some water from the bucket of water the fire sages gave her. He pulled off his shirt and she got to work re-healing his wound.

"Where does it hurt the most?" Katara asked, following the chi paths in Aang's back.

"I-It's right in the center, ah, yeah, right there." Aang said as she brought her water to the center. Aang stiffened up when she healed the burning area on his back. Soon the burning faded and Aang loosened up.

"Why do you think it was hurting all of the sudden, Aang?" Katara asked, putting his shirt back on him.

"Well, when I was facing Ozai, I went into the avatar state**—,"**

"Oh, that's great Aang!" Katara interrupted, "…Oh, sorry, continue."

"But right before I entered it, I had stabbed my back against a rock by accident, it felt like the shock all over again. I guess it really only started hurting now." Aang continued.

"Well, I hope it feels better." Katara added.

"Yeah, it does…now……thanks to you." He said with a smile. She blushed and smiled back.

"Oh yeah, the other reason I came here was to tell you to get ready. Zuko's coronation is in an hour." Aang added as he walked out the door.

_One hour, huh? I can do this. _

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Katara walked to her bathroom to take a nice, warm bath. She filled up the tub, got in, and sighed. She had never been so relaxed in her life. After her thirty-minute bath, she got out and began to do her hair.

Should I do my hair loopies again? Nah, I don't feel like doing a braid. Uhhhhh, I'll just do what I have been for a while.

She waterbended the water out of her hair pulled some of it back into a swirled bun and placed her two, skinny beads on her bangs. She slid her bangs into the bun and started to comb her hair. She walked into her bedroom and walked to her clothes roll. She pulled out her short-sleeved watertribe tunic with a white belt and slid it on over her white undergarments. She pulled on her navy-blue Capri's and put on her boots.

She was ready, and with 15 minutes to spare.

She walked out of the room as she slid her waterskin over her shoulder, heading for Zuko's coronation.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Coronation Plaza, Fire Nation Royal Palace (late morning)

Zuko walks out onto the coronation balcony with Aang slowly following. The crowd cheers as soon as they see Zuko. "Please…the real hero," He says as he steps aside letting Aang through, "is the Avatar." The crowd goes wild as they see the young Avatar proudly stand before everyone.

"Today, this war is finally over. I promised my Uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation….. and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace." Zuko said proudly. He then kneeled down as the head fire sage walked behind him with the Fire Nation diadem.

"All hail," The fire sage said as he placed the diadem on Zuko's topknot, "Fire Lord Zuko!" The crowd cheered and cheered as the avatar and new Fire Lord stood before them.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**Coronation Plaza, Fire Nation Royal Palace (early afternoon)**

"Is everyone ready to go?" Aang asked his friends.

"Yeah," They responded. They had been invited to the Jasmine Dragon for tea with Uncle Iroh. How could they say no?

They all took off on Appa, heading for Ba Sing Se. Katara sat next to Aang on Appa's head, while everyone else took their seat on Appa's Saddle.

Later that evening, everyone riding on the saddle was asleep. Katara kept little conversations with Aang to keep him up. Soon, fatigue attacked Katara and she laid her head down on Aang's shoulder. Aang blushed madly.

Soon enough, Katara fell asleep as well. The dull, boring quietness made it very hard for the young avatar to keep up. That is until he saw the fireworks. At first he thought it was just his imagination. But then he realized the fireworks were for him and the rest of the gaang, celebrating their victory in the war.

Towns all across the globe were shooting off fireworks in honor of them. The night was filled with the colorful brilliance of the sparkling bursts.

Aang shook Katara gently awake and she gawked at the spectacular lights filling the sky from town to town. Sokka woke up and stared up into the beautiful sky. Soon, everyone, even Momo, was awake.

In a few hours they arrived at the Jasmine Dragon, where Iroh had set up all of the guest beds in the back rooms. They all crawled into bed and fell quickly to sleep, dreaming of the amazing fireworks they saw that night.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**Jasmine Dragon, Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se (late morning)**

Katara yawned as she got up in the morning. Toph, Mai, and Suki were all wide-awake talking about random things. She went and took her bath, took the water out of her hair and combed it, she put her usual bun in and attached her "hair loopies" to it. She walked outside of the teashop to smell the fresh air and noticed a young avatar, sitting, and picking flowers.

Katara smiled and walked up to him. "Hey," She said.

"Oh…Hi, Katara," Aang stuttered, quickly pulling a flower behind his back.

"Ohhhh, what's that? I saw it!" Katara said, smirking.

"Ohh, well, ummmm, ya see……It's….I picked it for you." Aang quickly said, feeling his blood rush up to his face.

"Aw, Aang. That's so sweet. And I know just the place to put it, too." Katara said, "I'll be right back!"

She ran quickly into the bathroom and tied the large pink flower in with her bun. She was about to run back to Aang when all of the sudden**—**

"Katara! Iroh went out and bought us all new dresses! You have to see them! They're gorgeous!" Suki yelled to her.

"Okay! Be right there!" Katara yelled back, running in the direction of Suki's voice.

The dress _was _gorgeous. It was green with a brownish color flower lace and white on the bottom. It was the most beautiful earth kingdom dress she had ever seen. She grabbed it and said thank you to Iroh, then she ran to the bathroom to get changed into it.

In about a minute, she came back to Aang and his mouth nearly dropped to the floor when he saw the love of his life walking toward him, looking more beautiful than ever.

"See?" Katara said, spinning around, "I put it in my hair!"

All Aang could sputter out was, "Wow."

Katara giggled and thanked him for the flower. They both walked in the teashop and hung out there until after noon.

**.**

**OoO**

.

Later on in the afternoon, Zuko served his friends the best tea in the shop. Jasmine Tea. Sokka was attempting to paint everyone and constantly complained about everyone moving.

"Zuko! Stop Moving!" He yelled, very annoyed. "I'm trying to capture the moment!…I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together."

Katara walked up to him as he seemed very involved with his work. She seemed very pleased, "That's very thoughtful of you, Sokka."

That is, until she sees the painting, "Wait! Why did you give me Momo's ears?!" She seemed very annoyed.

"Those are your hair loopies." Sokka answered. The rest of the group except Aang walks over to see Sokka's 'painting'.

Zuko said, "At least you don't look like a borcupine, my hair's not that spiky!"

"I look like a man," Mai added.

Suki looked down at the picture and said, "And why did you paint me firebending?"

"I thought it looked more exciting that way," Sokka stated matter-of-factly. Momo jumped up on the table next to the picture and started chirping at it. "Oh, you think you could do a better job, Momo?"

Then Iroh joins the group and looks down at the picture, "Hey, my belly's not that big anymore, I've really trimmed down."

Toph then says, "I think you all look perfect!" raising her hands in the air. Everyone laughs at her comment and Aang walks outside.

Katara sees him and follows him out onto the balcony.

Once she catches up to him, she puts her hands on his shoulders and gives a big friendly hug. After the hug they both pull back to look at the sunset.

Should I do it?

_YES! DO IT! THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!_

_Is it really? _

_YES! YOU FOOL! KISS HIM BEFORE IT'S TO LATE!_

_Oh fine! _

Katara turned towards him and he follows by turning towards her. _This is it! _She kissed Aang passionately and he returned it by deepening it. They continued to kiss as the sun sets behind them.

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To be continued…

Author's Notes (The part of the story that everyone hates but ends up reading it anyway)

If you hadn't already guessed, the majority of the italicized words were Katara and her conscience arguing with each other. I'm not totally sure why I added it in. I just wanted to let everyone know what was going through her mind.

Oh yeah, and I was **totally **going to make there be an 'OWNED!' moment for the one servant talking about Aang's people. But I simmered it down a bit, so if you just want to imagine your own 'OWNED!' moment for then, that's totally cool with me. Oh yeah, and someone came and unfroze him, he didn't just stay there forever…(Or did he?)(No, he didn't)

Yes, I did make Katara say 'baddest'. I don't have bad grammar it's just that this wouldn't have sounded right to me, "Well, you did just defeat the most bad man on the planet," I mean seriously, does that sound right to **any **of you?

Hehe, did any of you guys realize I only made Toph talk 4 times? Seriously…Unless I miscounted, but seriously, sorry Toph lovers, I'll make her talk more in the next chapters, PROMISE.

Oh, and for any of you who were like "Diadem? WHAT!?" A diadem is a royal crown…yeah, that's what it is…

So yeah, please review this! This (I am hoping) will have around 20- 25 chapters. Could be more? Could be less? I'm not sure. But please subscribe, review, tell your friends, etc.

Thank you!

-AangKatara777


	2. Chapter 1: A Tough Relationship

_A/N- Hey, Everyone, sorry it took slightly longer to get the next chapter. I am going to try my best to get a new chapter in every week, but that could change. It just depends on the length of the chapter. So, while I'm here, I would like to thank avatargirl92008, IJAKEI, Katarawatertriber, Kataangisawesome, TheAvatard3000, Lyokofairygirl, and gamecocker for all reviewing very nicely on the Prologue . I really appreciate the support from you guys and I'm rooting for you too. If am boring anyone with this Author's Note, don't worry, I'm boring myself too, so I'll let you read the story now. _

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Book 4

Air

_Chapter 1:_

_ A Tough Relationship_

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* * *

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Jasmine Dragon, Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se (late morning)

_She kissed Aang passionately and he returned it by deepening it. They continued to kiss as the sun set behind them._

They both pulled away from the passionate kiss and looked into each other's eyes. Gray to blue. Blue to Gray. Katara smiled and sighed as she embraced him once more.

Aang finally broke the silence by saying, "I…I thought you were confused."

Katara sighed and closed her eyes, "I was…. then. But now that the war's over, I can think about having a relationship……with……you." She murmured the last word, pulling away and looking back into his eyes.

Aang smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I….I've loved you since I first saw your face when you broke me out of the iceberg," and then he chuckled and said, "I thought I was dead and you were my angel."

Katara laughed a bit and blushed.

"To tell the truth, I loved you too…but… not until you were shot by Azula's lightning did I realize… I can't live without you." Katara said, almost tearing up at the painful memory.

Aang looked down, realizing all the pain he put her through, but then he looked up and smiled saying, "But I'm with you now, and that's all that matters."

Katara smiled back and said, "I know."

They both leaned in for another passionate kiss, wrapping their arms around each other to deepen it.

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OoO

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"Fine! I'll just start over then! Since you all hate it so much!" Sokka muttered, crossing his arms and turning away in his chair.

"I think it's good, Sokka." Toph said, walking up behind him.

"Well, thank you, Toph, that makes me**— HEY!" **Sokka yelled, "You can't see, stop trying to cheer me up!"

"Well, I'm sure it's fine. With a lot of practice, I bet you could be really good at painting." Toph said, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess I could…wait." Sokka said, realizing that Toph. Isn't. That. Nice. He stood up and pointed his finger at her face, "Who are you and what have you done with Toph!?"

"It's me, Sokka...Hey, I CAN BE NICE YA KNOW!" Toph yelled, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, it just never really occurred to me." Sokka said, shrugging.

"Hmph," Toph pouted, walking back to her chair and drinking the last of her tea.

"Hey," Sokka said, realizing his sister had left the room, "Does anyone know where Katara went?"

"Oh," Zuko said, pointing to the doorway, "She went out there…." He noticed the kissing couple there and quickly said, "But I don't think you should go out there, ummm, there's…uh, robbers?"

"Robbers?! My sisters in danger!" Sokka yelled, running out of the shop.

_They're doomed. _Everyone thought.

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OoO

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Sokka ran out of the teashop and saw a sight that he didn't want to see. His sister making out with the Avatar. His jaw practically dropped to the floor and everyone else ran out of the teashop.

"**WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER'S FACE!**" Sokka screamed, his face turning redder than an apple.

Aang and Katara's eyes both opened wider than you could ever imagine as they heard Sokka's voice.

_Ohhhhh! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!_

_Shut up, Katara! Stay calm!_

Sokka was fuming. He ran up to the couple and pushed them apart faster than a cheetah-rhino.

"Sokka! It's not what you think!" Katara said, scared out of her wits. The rest of the gaang standing behind Sokka was getting a kick out of this.

"Oh! It's exactly what I think!" Sokka said, turning from Katara to Aang and back again.

His eyes locked onto Aang and he yelled, "You!"

Aang's eyes opened wide as a very angry Sokka tackled him to the ground.

"How could you do that!? I thought I could trust you!" Sokka yelled at the still shocked airbender.

"Sokka! Get off of Aang!" Suki shouted while pulling her boyfriend off of Aang.

Aang was still wide-eyed while he stood up and ran over to Katara. Sokka was trying to calm himself down. After about a minute of silence, Sokka said, "I'm sorry I overreacted."

Aang gulped and said, "It's okay…"

"But when did you guys start….ya' know…..kissing…and stuff?" Sokka asked, still with an angry expression plastered across his face, "How many times have you…..?"

"Umm, well," Katara began.

"We…. well, you've seen Katara kiss me on the cheek before…" Aang said, blushing nervously.

"Uh, huhhhh." Sokka said, tapping his foot on the ground.

"But, we've kissed on the lips…uh…..four times." Aang said, looking away in shame.

Sokka's eye's widened and his mouth opened slightly, "And when did all of this happen! I'm pretty sure I've been with you guys…like, all the time!" Sokka threw his hands up in the air.

"Um, in the Cave of Two Lovers we**—," **Katara began, getting cut off by Sokka.

"So you _did _kiss! I had a feeling, right in here." Sokka said, tapping his forehead.

"Yeah, and I kissed Katara…right before the invasion." Aang said, still blushing like crazy, "and at the play…and…Katara kissed me today sooooo, yeah, that's four."

"Wow……I must not pay attention to these things…" Sokka said, leaning back on the wall of the Jasmine Dragon.

There was a silence before Aang said, "Uh…..sorry?"

"No, Aang," Sokka said, closing his eyes, "I'm sorry for tackling you, you two make a great couple."

"Really?" Aang asked with a smiling.

"Yes, just….try to avoid kissing while I'm around….please?" Sokka asked.

"Okay." Katara and Aang said.

"Shall we go inside now? It's getting late." Iroh said, smiling.

"Yeah," replied the gaang. They all walked in laughing and smiling. Katara and Aang held hands and smiled at eachother. When they came to their rooms, they hugged and Aang gave Katara a kiss goodnight. The girl blushed and walked into the room smiling.

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OoO

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Suki ran up to her and squealed.

Katara's eyes widened at Suki's extremely happy expression. She scooted away from her and sat down on her bed. Mai rolled her eyes, smiling, at the happy teen. She then laid down to go to sleep.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you! I was waiting for him to kiss you but then you kissed him-oh!- it's so great!" Suki said, hopping up and down.

"Wow, Suki," Katara said, laughing, "I never knew you had this much excitement stored in you."

They both laughed and Toph came into the room. She walked in front of Katara and yelled, "Sugar Queen makes the move! Woo!" She grinned widely and closed her eyes.

Katara blushed and said, "Well, the war's over now so I don't think anything will complicate me and Aang being together. And Aang doesn't need to concentrate on anything big anymore so…yeah."

"Well," Suki said, sitting next to Katara, "I'm am just so proud of you!" She put her hand on Katara's shoulder and smiled at her. "Well, it's getting late. Good night."

Toph replied by snoring, obviously asleep.

"Night," Katara said, pulling the covers over her.

Aang and I are…together

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OoO

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**Jasmine Dragon, Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se (morning)**

Aang yawned and sat up. He looked around the room and saw Sokka and Zuko still asleep. He got up and got dressed, looking for a mirror. He found one and walked up to it.

The airbender stared at his self through it and sighed in relief.

_It's over, Aang, get a grip, the war's all over_

Then he smiled.

_And, Katara likes you, what could be better than that!_

I quietly opened the door, hoping he wouldn't wake Sokka or Zuko. He walked up to the girls' room and he put his ear up to it. All he could hear was Toph's snores and the gentle breathing of the other girls. He sighed and walked down the hall into the main room of the Jasmine Dragon. He walked out the door and onto the patio. The sun hadn't risen yet.

He heard footsteps behind him and instantly swished around and took a fighting stance. He loosed up when he saw who was in front of him.

Katara.

"Hey," Aang said, blushing, "Katara."

_MAN! I'VE GOTTA STOP BLUSHING WHEN I'M NEAR HER!_

"Hey, Aang," Katara said, walking up next to him. She pointed out towards the horizon, "Look!" The sun was just starting to rise.

Aang turned towards it and smiled.

Katara blushed and scooted closer to Aang. Aang closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around her waist. The water bender lightly gasped, but then calmed as she laid her head on his shoulder.

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OoO

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**Inside the Jasmine Dragon, Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se (morning)**

"Awwww, that's adorable!" Suki whispered. Sokka scooted closer to get a better look at the couple.

"Okay, I must admit that that is pretty cute. But, I still get queasy thinkin' about it." Sokka replied, staring at his little sister and the avatar.

"What's so wrong about it? We're goin' out. Why can't Katara and Aang?" Suki whispered back, without taking her eyes from the beginner couple.

"They're younger than us."

"By a year!"

"Yeah. Katara is. But Aang is twelve. That's three years younger than us, and two years younger than Katara," Sokka tried to prove his point.

"Good, Sokka, you can do math," Suki teased, "But Aang can have the maturity of a fourteen-year old. So therefore-,"

"He doesn't _always _have the maturity of a fourteen-year old. He tries to make a game out of anything he can," Sokka argued.

"'Cause that's expected of a twelve-year old," Suki said.

"But you said he has the maturity of a fourteen-year old!" Sokka complained.

"No," Suki said, getting annoyed from the topic, "I said Aang _can _have the maturity of a fourteen-year old. I didn't say he _did _have the maturity of a fourteen-year old!"

"What are we whisperin' about?" came a whisper behind them.

Quickly, the two spun around and saw who was speaking. It was Zuko. But he wasn't alone, because behind him were Mai and Toph.

"What are you guys doin'? Zuko asked.

"We're spying on Aang and Katara," Sokka answered, looking back at the couple, still in each other's arms.

"We're not spying," Suki corrected, "We're observing."

Zuko stared at her, "That's the same thing as spying."

"Yeah, and I like to spy. Agent Sokka, reporting for duty," Sokka said, pretending to go into stealth mode.

"What is everybody doing out here so early?" Iroh came out and asked.

Aang and Katara gasped and turned around, finding the group of "spies" looking at them in shock. Almost everyone's mouth was open to the floor.

Katara's look of shock almost instantly turned to rage, "What were you guys doing! You were spying on us, weren't you! Why would you do that!"

"Okay, let me answer this guys," Sokka said, turning from the gaang and back to Katara and Aang, "-_clears throat_- We were spying on you. Yes, yes we were. 'Cause we're bored and-,"

"We think you two go perfectly together!" Suki quickly added in.

"Ugh! You guys are impossible!" Katara stomped off towards her room.

Aang quickly scooted away and walked up to Iroh, "Could I have some tea, please?" he asked.

"Sure," Iroh said, and then to everyone, "What does everyone want?"

So the rest of the gaang gave their orders and Aang took a cup of tea to Katara. He walked into the girls' room and almost cracked up at what he saw.

Katara was sitting on her bed, in a cross-legged position, saying, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmm, Ohhhhhhhhhmmmmm,"

Aang set the cup of tea down, and walked over to Katara. He sat down beside her and asked, "Uhhh, Katara? What are you doing?"

Katara opened up one eye and looked at him. "I am trying to calm down…by meditating. Oooohhhhhmmmmmmmmm,"

Aang giggled. "Haha, that's not how you're supposed to do it."

"Oh? Then how _do _you meditate, Aang?" Katara asked, opening both of her eyes and looking at him.

"Well, you sit like this," Aang said, putting his feet in a meditating pose.

"Okay," Katara said, shifting her feet to the position.

"And you close your eyes," Aang continued, closing his eyes.

Katara followed and closed her eyes, "Okay,"

"Put your hands upward on your knees making an 'okay' sign."

"Okay," Katara muttered, following his instructions.

"Now take a few deep breaths," Aang said, beginning to take slow, deep breaths, "Like this."

"Okay," Katara said, breathing like Aang was.

"Now all you have to do is say, Ohhhhhmmmmmmmmm, like you were before," Aang said, smiling.

"But you don't always say that," Katara stated.

"That's because I say it in my mind. But I actually think it is more calming just to say it," Aang suggested, beginning to say "Ohmmmmmmm,"

"Okay, then." Katara said, shrugging, "Ohhhmmmmmmmm. Ohhhmmmmmm."

"That's right. Now just continue to do that," Aang said, joining her in meditation.

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OoO

**.**

The rest of the gaang was drinking their tea and having a good time. It took them a while to realize that Aang had left.

Suki soon got up to check on them, and Sokka followed. As they walked past the girls' room, they heard something over and over again.

"Oohhhhhhhmmmm, Ohhhhhmmmmmmm."

"Do you hear that?" Suki asked, putting her ear up against the door.

"Yeah," Sokka replied, also putting his ear on the door.

Zuko walked up to them and whispered, "What are you guys doing?"

"This time we're observing," Sokka answered.

"Okay?" Zuko said, kneeling next to them, "What do ya hear?"

"See for yourself," Sokka said, making room for Zuko on the door.

So there they were, sitting on the floor of the Jasmine Dragon hallway…listening to the meditation of Katara and Aang.

"Should I check what their doing?" Suki asked the two.

Both boys shrugged and turned back towards the door. Suki then decided, "Hey, move over so I can peek through the door," she whispered, shooing the boys over. Once they were over, she grabbed the handle and ever so quietly, she cracked open the door.

She looked through the small crack and saw the two sitting on the bed, meditating, both of them saying the 'Ohhhmmmmmms' in perfect unison.

Suki quickly shut the door and turned to the two, "I think they're bonding."

Sokka and Zuko turned their heads to each other but then looked back at Suki, "How?" they both asked.

"Well, they're both in there sitting on the bed, saying 'Oooohhhhmmmm'," Suki said, giving weird looks towards the room.

"They're meditating I guess," Zuko said, "Aang usually does it, it's most commonly done by air benders in large groups, but it's sometimes done separately."

"Oh no!" Sokka whispered, somewhat loudly.

"What?" Suki and Zuko asked.

"Katara's finally lost it!" Sokka said, "She thinks she's an air bender!"

Suki and Zuko both gave Sokka a blank expression, followed by shaking their heads in embarrassment.

"Get out of the way, guys," Toph said, walking through them and busting open the door.

You probably know what happens next, many jaws are dropped, many gasps were heard, and one very angry water bender almost breaks her vocal cords.

"YOU'RE SPYING ON US AGAIN?!?!?!?!" Katara yelled with all her might.

"Actually, this time we were observing," Sokka pointed out timidly.

"I CAN'T BELIE-,"

"Katara…" Aang said, grasping the teen's arm, "Calm down, take a deep breath."

Katara took a very deep breath and held it in.

"Now let out, Katara."

She let the air out.

"Take a deep breath."

She took another deep breath.

"Now let it out."

She did and Aang patted her back, "Good girl, Katara."

"I need some fresh air," Katara said, standing up and walking up to the door, "Aang, want to come with me to town?"

"Sure," Aang said, air bending himself from his seat and walking to the door.

As Katara walked past the still-on-the-floor teens, she said, "Oh, and, DON'T. SPY. ON. US."

So the new couple exited the Jasmine Dragon, hand-in-hand, headed towards the town.

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OoO

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**Main Ba Sing Se Shopping Area, Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se (late morning)**

As the couple went along, still hand in hand, they sat outside a high-classed restaurant and relaxed. They talked about random things and soon they both dozed off, lying against each other's shoulders. They did until-

"Avatar Aang! Is that you?!"

Aang quickly bolted upright, making Katara jump up in surprise. They both looked up to see who was there and they were surprised to see three little kids, two boys and a girl, standing before them.

"Hello there, do you guys need anything?" Aang asked the group.

The boy in front quickly turned behind him towards his friends and squealed, "Did you hear that?! Avatar Aang asked me a question!"

"Well, answer him!" The other two squealed back.

The boy turned back and said, over happily, "No, we don't need anything, but we're your biggest fans!"

Aang looked at Katara and said, "Hey Katara, we have a fan club."

The boy turned around again and said, "I think he likes us!"

They all turned towards Aang and bowed, "Avatar Aang, we are at your service." People around the group starting giving them odd looks so Katara quickly stood them all up and asked them where their parents were.

"We don't have parents, they were killed in the war a few years ago," The little girl said.

"Aw," Katara said, kneeling down in front of them with a worried expression, "Where have you guys been staying?"

"We had been staying with Ms. Haniakitoki (_A/N- H-on-e-ah-key-toe-key_), but we don't like her so we ran away!" The other boy said.

"What are you guys' names?" Aang asked, "We need to take you back."

"Well," The first boy began, "My name is Buyou."

"And my name is Usagi!" said the little girl.

"My name's Noboru," said the second boy.

"Are you all related?" Katara asked them.

"No, we all met at Haniakitoki's orphanage," said Buyou.

"Why are you all here? Why did you run away?" Katara asked.

"We ran away because Ms. Haniakitoki is the meanest orphanage lady ever! We're here to protect you! We thought that since you are always in danger of fire benders killing you, we could be your bodyguards! Look at our awesome fighting skills!" Buyou said, signaling his group to start their 'performance'.

They all started to jump around chopping at the air and occasionally yelling, "Hyyahh!" "Hah!" "Die!" "Whoosh!" "Boom!"

"That's very good," Aang and Katara giggled.

"And that's not all we can do! We will be the best bodyguards ever!" They all yelled in unison.

Aang laughed, "That's very kind of you, but, the Fire Nation isn't hunting us anymore, we aren't in any danger."

"Yes, you are!"

"From what?" Aang asked.

"Bandits!"

"Bandits won't get us, just cause we're the Avatar gaang, it doesn't mean we're rich," Aang said.

"But isn't Fire Lord Zuko in your group?"

"Yes."

"He's rich!"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean we're rich. We're actually happy the way we are," Aang said happily.

"But you could still get robbed."

"We could fight them off easily."

"Well…We still can be bodyguards to you for other things."

Katara sighed, "I know you guys mean well, but, you need to go back to the orphanage."

"NO!" The kids cried in unison.

Aang sat down in front of them, "If you go back to the orphanage, then…uh…I will declare you guys honorary members of Team Avatar."

The three kids screamed in joy and ran around in circles chanting, "We're on Team Avatar! We're on Team Avatar!"

"Okay, now, where is the orphanage?" Katara asked the prancing children.

"Down the road, it's the big house at the end of the street," Noboru said, pointing down the street.

Katara and Aang looked down the road and saw the large orphanage, "Oh…that big house."

"Yeah," Usagi muttered.

So, the group set off. After about ten minutes, Noboru and Usagi ended up in Katara and Aang's arms, while Buyou pranced around in circles around them.

"So, how old are you guys anyway?" Aang asked, while Usagi started messing around with Aang's necklace.

"Well, I'm the leader, so I'm the oldest!" Buyou stated, temporarily stopping his prancing.

"I mean exactly how old are you?" Aang asked, grunting as Buyou jumped up on his back, almost knocking him over.

"Oh, I'm eight, Noboru's seven, and Usagi's six," he said, smiling.

Katara smiled a slightly concerned smile at Aang situation and told him, "Buyou, if you don't get off of Aang's back, you might hurt him, and you don't _want _to hurt him, right?"

Buyou gasped and jumped off of Aang's back and apologized, "Oh, I'm so so so so sorry Avatar Aang!"

Aang straightened out his back and said, "Oh, it's fine."

So as to not hurt Aang, Buyou decided to just hold Katara's hand the rest of the way. Once they got to the orphanage, they saw Ms. Haniakitoki run up to the door yelling,

"You worthless brats! Where have you-oh, hello, Avatar Aang, it is an honor for you to be in my presence," she said.

"That's the nicest I've ever heard her talk," Noboru whispered to Katara.

Katara and Aang sat them down and they walked in with somber expressions. Katara and Aang turned to walk away, but felt upset that they had to give those kids back to that 'evil' woman. They walked back down the street to the restaurant and got a table for lunch. Aang ordered the Noodles and Veggies, and Katara got the Roast Duck with Rice.

When their food arrived they ate it up and headed back to the Jasmine Dragon after paying and tipping the waiter.

Halfway there, four men, dressed in completely dark green suits ran up and said, "Message for Avatar Aang and Katara of the Water Tribe."

Aang and Katara walked up and said, "Okay?"

One of the men ran up and handed them the scroll and Katara and Aang read it as the men ran away.

_Hey…we were just wondering were you were…and yeah. Are you coming back soon? You better…We're bored…_

_-Sokka, Suki, Zuko, Mai, and Toph_

"We were already coming back, did they need to send a note?" Katara asked, giving an annoyed look to the scroll.

"Well, they didn't know that," Aang said, "Let's just keep goin'"

"Okay."

About five minutes later, the four men came running back and they stopped in front of them and said, "Another message for Avatar Aang and Katara of the Water Tribe."

"Okay, who's it from this time?" Aang asked.

"It is once again from your friends at the Jasmine Dragon," one of the men said.

Aang and Katara sighed and held out their hands for the scroll. They placed it in their hands and they began to read it.

_Guys! Where are you! You're freaking us out! You haven't replied to our letter yet!!! You aren't dead are you!?_

_-Sokka, Suki, Zuko, Mai, and Toph_

"If they send us one more letter I'm gonna scream," Katara growled.

"I hate to say it, but me too…but…I wouldn't scream…I'd yell." Aang said.

Silence.

"Let's just keep walking," Katara suggested, starting to walk forward.

Another five minutes past and once again, the men in green came running up. Katara gasped and ran over to the nearest wall, banging her head against it. Aang sighed and took the note.

"Is it from 'Our friends at the Jasmine Dragon this time?" Aang asked the men.

"No, this time it is from General Shinu of the Fire Nation," The man said, handing Aang the letter.

_Avatar Aang, _

_Within the past two days, we have noticed brightly colored lights filling the sky around the Fire Nation. We have also gotten complaints from various spots in the Earth Kingdom as well. Some people believe them to be the Celestial Lights. We think different. We need you to come to the Fire Nation to help us solve this problem. _

_-General Shinu_

_A/N- Okay! Yay! I got the first actual chapter out! Yay!!! Okay, so I hoped everyone liked it. If there are mistakes I went over it, but since I finished this at like...2 in the morning (It's 2:08AM now, hehe hehe) I could have skipped some things. Now don't ask me why I am staying up this late, cause I don't know!!!! I am just crazy like that. _

_Okay, questions about the chapter you may or may not know the answer to!_

_**1. Are Buyou, Noboru, and Usagi coming back?**_

_Yes, I wouldn't have made them show up if I wouldn't bring them back_

**_2. Does the plot have to do with the weird lights General Shino was talking about?_**

_Yes, yes it does_

**_3. Do I like to make the gaang spy on Aang and Katara?_**

_Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It fun to see what's going on in the background of romantic moments_

**_4. Did I make up the name Honiakitoki?_**

_Yes, I did. But I will laugh if it turns out to be a real one. XD_

_**5. Do I like to give Katara anger issues?**_

_Yeah, it's a lot of fun to make Katara mad. Somehow it entertains me. lol. Plus I have a friend with anger issues, If you're here, you know what I'm talking about. lol. No offense, Missy._

**_6. Do I think I wrote this well?_**

_Umm, well, It's definately one of my better fanfictions. Yeah, I think I wrote it well, but I think I coul have been a tiny bit more descriptive._

_**7. How do you pronounce the children's names?**_

_Buyou- (Bew-yo) and some people say (Boy-yo)_

_Noboru- (No-bore-ew)_

_Usagi- (You-sah-gee) _

**_8. Is spying and observing the same thing?_**

_Technically, yes. My thesaurus says so. But, I guess you could take it two different ways. _

_Spying- observing secretively with hostile intent, searching or examining closely_

_Observing- to see, watch, perceive, or notice, seeing or learning, watching or viewing_

_So basically the same, but spying is trying to be secretive, observing is not._

**9. Does Katara have a last name?**

_No_

**_10. Why not?_**

_How should I know!_

**_11. Toph does, why not Katara!?_**

_Because Toph feels like having one?_

**_12. No! WHAT'S THE REAL ANSWER!?_**

_Because, back then, only people of true importance (or rich people) had last names. Besides rulers...I guess, It still confuses me today..._

**_13. (Sorry, I was having fun) Do I like Kataang?_**

_That's the dumbest question I've ever heard.........DUH! XD_

**_14. Are these questions beginning o be pointless?_**

_Yes_

**_14. Are you going to stop now?_**

_Yes_

* * *

(_Quick A/N I had a lot of fun with those questions so do not criticize me for them being dumb...Oh yeah, and now it is 2:40AM...and my hands are sore so, I will see you next week!)_

_-AangKatara777_

* * *


	3. Chapter 2: The Bright Lights

_Author's Notes: __**I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR MAKING YOU GUYS WAIT FOR A MONTH, A WEEK, AND A DAY FOR ME TO UPDATE!!!**_

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Book 4

Air

_Chapter 2:_

The Bright Lights

***

**Main Ba Sing Se Shopping Area, Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se (early afternoon)**

_Avatar Aang,_

_Within the past two days, we have noticed brightly colored lights filling the sky around the Fire Nation. We have also gotten complaints from various spots in the Earth Kingdom as well. Some people believe them to be the Celestial Lights. We think different. We need you to come to the Fire Nation to help us solve this problem._

_-General Shinu_

"Katara, it's not from Sokka and them," Aang said, still looking at the paper, "It's from General Shinu in the Fire Nation."

Katara turned around from banging her head against the wall and walked towards the avatar. She asked, "What's it say?"

"It says that bright colorful lights have been filling the skies around the Fire Nation and some in the Earth Kingdom," Aang said, summarizing the paragraph.

"Bright, colorful lights, huh? Aren't they talking about the Celestial lights?" Katara asked, grabbing the piece of paper.

"It says that some people think that, but the people at the Fire Nation think differently. It's asking me if I could come and check it out," Aang said, looking up at Katara.

"So, _are _you going to go?" Katara asked with a concerned expression on her face.

"I guess…why, do you not want me too?" Aang asked, also gaining a concerned expression.

Katara's eyes widened, "No, I want you to, as long as I can come too," She smiled at the air bender.

Aang smiled back and said, "Well, why wouldn't I take my _girlfriend _with me?"

They both turned and blushed at the word 'girlfriend'. Katara sighed happily and said, "So…we _are _a couple aren't we." She smiled.

"I…guess," Aang said, grinning and putting the piece of paper in his pocket.

They both smiled and blushed, sharing an awkward moment of silence. About a minute later, Aang took Katara's hand and said, "Well, we should be getting back. Before we get another letter."

Katara giggled and said, "Yeah."

They ran back to the Jasmine Dragon and entered the main room, everyone was there, listening to Iroh play his Sungi Horn. Everyone stopped and looked at the two when they walked in.

"Where ya been?" Sokka asked, sitting upright in his chair, staring at the two.

"Oh, we went into town and we sat outside of this restaurant and these three kids who were totally obsessed with Aang showed up, so we had to take them back to their orphanage," Katara said, taking a seat.

"Orphanage?" Suki asked, concern on her face.

"Yeah, they said their parents were killed in the war a few years ago," Aang said, taking a seat next to Katara and scooting closer to her.

"So we gave them back to the orphanage and we got some lunch at the restaurant we were sitting outside of," Katara finished for him.

"So what have you been doing since then?" Sokka asked, lifting a curious eyebrow.

"Well, we got your two letters…" Katara said, sounding annoyed.

"Hehe," Sokka muttered, "We were worried,"

"Well, we told you we were going into town. You could have at least guessed that we'd be eating lunch, too," Katara growled, giving an annoyed glare to Sokka.

"Well, we weren't for sure, okay?" Sokka said, still muttering.

"But then we got another letter," Aang said.

"IT WASN'T FROM ME!" Sokka yelled, standing up.

"We know that, Sokka," Aang said, motioning for Sokka to sit, "It was from General Shinu in the Fire Nation."

Zuko looked up when he heard 'General Shinu', "What did it say?"

Aang pulled the scroll out from his pocket and air bended it over to Zuko, "They've been seeing bright, colorful lights in the sky. And they _aren't _the Celestial Lights. They want me to go to the Fire Nation and check it out."

Zuko read it and said, "I see…Well, should we get ready then?"

Aang smiled and said, "Yeah."

"This is good, 'cause, without the war…Life's boring," Sokka said, standing up and stretching. Suki nodded in agreement and stood up also.

"Well, let's all get packed then," Katara said, getting and answer of 'Okay!' from everyone. Then, everyone took off to their rooms, gathering everything they needed for their trip.

Within an hour, Iroh cleaned up the guest rooms and everyone was getting packed up.

"Hey, guys!" Katara said, looking through her pack, "I found some stuff from a long time ago, before the war was over." She pulled out the flower necklace Aang had made her that long time ago at Aunt Wu's village. Katara smiled, _That was when I realized I would marry Aang, a powerful bender_

Suki smiled and walked over, "What's that?" She asked, pointing to the flower necklace.

"Oh," Katara said, blushing, "Aang made it for me when I lost my mother's necklace,"

"Aww, that's so sweet," Suki said, "Sokka made me one of those around the time you went to go get revenge on the man who killed your mother." Katara stiffened.

"Could we please not talk about that?" Katara asked, "I don't know what was going through my mind at the time, but for a little while, I thought I was going to kill him." She looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry," Suki said, starting a short silence throughout the room, "So, uh. What else you got in there?"

Katara sighed and pulled out the burnt and torn, yellow and orange air bender shawl. Suki reeled back in surprise at the destroyed clothing. Katara held it to her chest tightly.

"Katara?" Suki asked, looking at the torn up clothes, "What is that?"

Katara smiled faintly and said, "It's Aang's shirt…from when he was shot by…Azula. It got burnt so badly that I couldn't sew it back together." She pulled it away from her chest and stared at it. _I'll never forget that day. I thought I'd lose him._

"Wow…I never realized he was hurt that bad, I mean, I saw his scar but….his clothes were like, totally destroyed." Sokka said.

Mai walked up and looked at the clothes, "Azula did that?" She said, her eyes widening but then returning to normal size, "Well, it makes sense, she's a crazy psychopath."

Katara giggled, "Yeah, I agree." She put the shirt back in her bag and pulled out her old Water Tribe coat. "Wow, I don't think this fits me anymore…let's see." She pulled it down over her head and slipped it on.

"Well, it doesn't fit me as well, but, I can still use it," She said, pulling it back over her head and folding it, placing it back in the bag.

"Hey, what else you got in there?" Toph said, jumping from her seat on the bed.

"Hmm, let's see," Katara said, continuing to dig through the bag.

"Oh!" Katara said, pulling out a scroll with a Water Tribe symbol on it, "Here's a water bending scroll that I stole from some pirates, Aang and I learned the water whip from it," She opened it up and looked at the 'crazy' moves.

"Stole it?" Suki asked, smirking, "Katara, you don't seem like the stealing type?"

Katara blushed and said, "Well, they stole it from a water bender, so I took it." She rolled it back up and put it in her bag.

"I wonder what the guys are doing right now?" Suki asked, looking in the direction of the boys' room.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"I wonder what the girls are talking about," Aang asked sitting on his already packed-up bag.

"Probably dumb stuff," Sokka said, packing up his not-even-half-full bag, then switching to his sarcastic, mimicking girl voice, "Like boys, and dresses, and flowers, and make-up, and-,"

"Sokka, I get your point," Aang said, laying back.

"Well, I'm _certain _that Mai isn't talking about that stuff, she's to dark for that stuff," Zuko said, swinging his pack over his shoulder, "But that's what I like about her."

Aang smiled, "I like that Katara's so nice, and beautiful, and gorgeous, and caring, and motherly, and funny, and sweet, and strong, and kind, and intriguing-,"

Sokka and Zuko looked at each other in annoyance and embarrassment.

"-and elegant, and graceful, and amazing, and loving, and-,"

Both Zuko and Sokka at the same time, "**SHUT UP!"**

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"**SHUT UP!"**

All of the girls looked towards the boys' direction.

"Well," Toph said, crossing her arms over her chest, "That was Sokka and Zuko, so apparently Aang was blabbering on about something. Most likely you, Katara."

Katara blushed madly, "Who? Me?"

"Yeah, you're the only thing Aang blabbers on about." She giggled.

Katara continued blushing and walked towards the door, "I'm going to go check."

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang's hands flew up in front of him as he reeled back at the sudden yelling.

"What!?" Aang asked, sitting back up.

"You were blabbering on about what you usually blabber about," Sokka said, crossing his arms over his chest, "My **sister.**"

Aang's blood flew up to his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his head, "Oh….Sorry."

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Zuko sighed and walked up to the door, "Who is it?" He called, still shaking his head in embarrassment.

"It's Katara," Katara said, her voice muffled by the door. Zuko quickly turned around towards Aang, smirking. Aang's eyes opened wide and he blushed, standing up.

Zuko turned back to the door and opened it, letting Katara in the room. Aang smiled and walked up to her.

Zuko smirked, "What a coincidence, Katara," He said, "We were just talking about you." Sokka began to giggle in the background.

Aang quickly turned around, and made the "shut up" sign with his hand.

"Oh, really?" Katara asked, also halfway giggling.

"Yep," Zuko said, "Aang was just telling us all of the many adjectives that describe you." Aang's eyes opened wide and he blushed from ear to ear.

"And what might some of those be?" Katara asked, giggling, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, what did you say, Aang?" Zuko said, "Something about Katara being elegant and graceful, or something?" Sokka was also smirking.

Aang was dying of embarrassment.

"So, I'm elegant, Aang?" Katara asked, walking up to Aang.

Aang began to stutter, "Well-ah, yes, you are-but I…No…I mean yes and-,"

Katara giggled and place a finger over his lips, "I get it," She said, leaning in to kiss him.

Sokka's eyes widened and he jumped into action, lunging for the soon-to-be-kissing couple. Zuko also jumped into action, pushing Sokka back, clamping his hand over his mouth and whispering, "No, I want to see this."

Aang and Katara's lips met and they both wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other in their strong embrace.

Sokka's eyes twitched as he stared at his sister making out with Aang. He was jumping up and down at the unwanted sight. Zuko was desperately trying to suppress his laughter.

Katara pulled back, smiling, and Aang stood there stunned.

Zuko leaned over and whispered, "You'd think that Aang wouldn't get as embarrassed anymore," Sokka nodded in agreement.

Aang blushed and asked, "So, uh, are you done packing?"

"Yeah, basically," Katara said, shrugging, "I had found my old bag and I saw some stuff from a while ago."

"Oh?" Aang asked, lifting an eyebrow, "What was in it?" Sokka and Zuko went back to packing and cleaning up the room.

"Some stuff," Katara said, looking at the ground, remembering Aang's torn up clothes, "Like…uh, that waterbending scroll."

"Cool!" Aang shouted in joy, "Hey, maybe we can finish learning those moves when we get to the Fire Nation, we never did learn them all."

Katara smiled, shaking out of her thoughts, "Yeah…well, are you done packing?"

Aang smiled, "Yeah, I have been for a while," he started walking towards the door, "Well, let's go wait for everyone outside."

Katara smiled and followed him, "Okay,"

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang sat down on the edge of the balcony and tapped the seat next to him, encouraging her to sit next to him. She obliged, sitting next to him. She had grabbed her bags, including the one with her 'memories' in it.

Aang scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He smiled at her and gave her a peck on her cheek, causing her to blush.

As Katara shifted against him to lean on his shoulder, Aang caught a glimpse at what was in the bag. He saw orange and yellow cloth and he softly gasped. Katara looked towards him and realized what he saw, pulling away the bag.

Aang looked up at her with a confused expression on and asked, "What do you have in there, Katara? It looks familiar."

Katara got nervous and said, "It's nothing."

Aang held out his hand and said, "Let me see it." He smiled reassuringly.

Katara sighed and closed her eyes, slowly handing Aang the bag.

He took it and pulled out the orange and yellow cloth and saw it. "Why do you have my old shirt?" He asked.

"Uh…cause, um…I wanted to keep it….uh… as a souvenir of the Air Temples?" Katara lied, epically failing in the process.

Aang sat it down on his lap and said, "Really. Why do you have it?"

Katara sighed in defeat and said, "Turn it around and look at the back."

Aang raised an eyebrow but did it anyway. He looked at the massive hole in the bag and noticed all of the burn marks on it.

"When you basically….died, I got scared…I, I thought you wouldn't come back…and…so…I, uh, kept it…just in case you did…actually…..'ya know," Katara muttered, trying very hard not to cry.

Aang gave her his concerned expression and wrapped both arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace as she cried against his shoulder.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"I wonder what's taking Katara so long in the boys' room, has she left yet?" Suki asked, walking over to the door. Toph sat up on her bed and said,

"Yeah, they left a little while ago,"

Suki raised an eyebrow, "Who's they?"

"Aang and Katara."

Toph's eyes widened a little and she said, "Oh, now Sokka and Zuko are leaving the room,"

As the two boys past the girls' room, the girls all heard Sokka say, "They're gonna get mad at us for spying…again."

Toph jumped off the bed and ran to the door. "What are you doing?" Suki asked.

Toph turned around and smiled, "I'm goin' with them! I love to spy on Aang and Katara." She opened the door and ran to follow Sokka and Zuko. Suki and Mai shrugged and followed.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"I'm sorry," Katara muttered after a little bit.

Aang looked at her worriedly and asked, "Why are you sorry?"

Katara looked up at him with tears going down her cheeks, "I'm such a cry baby, anytime we talk about…that, I start crying!"

"It's okay…It was a hard time for you. It's not every day that we have to see someone basically die," Aang said, rubbing her back.

"I know," Katara muttered.

"Plus," Aang said, causing Katara to look at him, "You brought me back, I'm here because of you," He smiled and tightened his grip on her.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sokka asked, peeking out from his hiding spot behind the wall.

"I don't know, but Katara's crying," Toph said, feeling the ground.

"Why is she crying?" Suki asked with a concerned expression.

"How should I know? I can only feel that Katara's shaking," Toph said, annoyed.

"Shaking?" Zuko asked, "That's a little weird…"

"Shaking with, like, crying," Toph said, matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Zuko said.

"Hey, what if they catch us again?" Mai said, in her usually bored-out-of-her-mind tone.

"Oh, they aren't going to catch us." Sokka said, smiling.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"So, do you want to get back to the others? We should be leaving soon," Aang asked, a few minutes later.

Katara smiled and wiped any remains of her tears away and stood up, "Yeah,"

Aang took her hand and they turned around, only to see the hand of a certain Water Tribe warrior. Any sort of happiness that was on Aang and Katara's face, instantly turned into rage.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Sokka turned back to the balcony, only to see that Aang and Katara weren't there.

"They're gone," Sokka said in shock.

"Yeah, they are," Suki agreed.

"Where do you think they went?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention." Mai muttered, playing around with her battle knives.

"Did you feel anything, Toph?" Sokka asked, crawling over to the blind earth bender.

"Yeah, Aang and Katara stood up and turned around, they both stiffened up and Aang picked up Katara and poof, they're gone," Toph said.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'poof' they're gone?!" Sokka asked, getting worried, but still in his usual sarcastic way.

"I mean that all of a sudden I couldn't see them," Toph said.

"That's a little weird,"

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Sokka and the rest of the gaang walked out back to Appa, who now had Aang and Katara sitting on his head.

Everyone boarded up on Appa, waving to Uncle Iroh. Both Katara and Aang had their arms crossed, with stern expressions plastered onto their face.

"So…," Sokka said, nervously, "What'cha doin?"

"Notbeing **spied **on, that's what," Aang said, emphasizing the word 'spied'.

"Yeahhhh, I'm gonna go now," Sokka said, slowly backing away.

"Fine with us, we won't **observe **you leaving," Katara muttered, emphasizing the word 'observe'.

"Ookkaayy?" Sokka said, jumping back to his seat next to Suki on the saddle, once there, he said, "Guys? I think they know…"

"Know what?" Suki asked.

"That we were spying on them." Sokka said.

Aang and Katara both jumped up from their seats and yelled, "HA! You admitted it! We knew you were spying on us!"

Everyone's eyes opened wide and they all prepared for the worst.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"But," Aang and Katara said together, their faces slowly calming down, Sokka and the groups' faces widened in confusion and scaredness, "We forgive you." And they sat down.

Everyone on the saddle looked at each other in shock and disbelief. They turned back to Aang and Katara and Aang yelled, "Yip yip!" in a very annoyed tone.

Sokka crawled up to Aang and Katara and said, "Uh…you forgive us?"

"Yes…" Katara said, still pouting. Aang nodded his head.

"That doesn't really sound like you do…," Sokka muttered, hiding his head behind the wall of the saddle.

"Oh, we forgive you alright," Aang said, with an angry tone.

"You're just going to regret doing it," Katara added on, the two of them now going silent.

"Okkkaayy, then," Sokka said, zipping away to Suki's side, then yelling, "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that? Why are we going to die?"

"Aang and Katara are going to kill us!" Sokka yelled, raising his arms into the air.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

In the background, Aang and Katara lightly giggled at the sarcastic warrior on the saddle.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"I doubt they're going to kill us, Sokka," Zuko said, in his usual annoyed tone.

"Yeah, Aang and Katara aren't the killing type," Suki added, putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Yeah, but they were giving me the evil eyes!" Sokka yelled, once again throwing his arms into the air. Then, he started rocking back and forth with his arms wrapped around his legs.

Cough, Cough

The whole group, including Aang and Katara jumped up and turned around, looking for the source of the coughing. The sound came from behind the saddle, on Appa's tail.

Aang and Katara climbed up from their seat on Appa's head and slowly made their way over to his tail, to be greeted by three small children, hanging on for dear life.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"Hi, Mister Avatar Aang!"

"No. Way." Aang muttered, looking at his small fan club on Appa's tail.

"Could you help us up, Mister Avatar Aang?" Buyou asked, almost loosing his grip on Appa's fur.

"Er….sure," Aang said, holding out his hand for Buyou and Noboru, while Katara grabbed Usagi. They sat them down on one side of Appa's saddle and the rest of the gaang sat on the other side.

Aang, looking very stressed, began the conversation, "Ok….Why are you guys here?"

Buyou answered, "We're here because we are your biggest fans and we want to see some fighting up close!" He was smiling really big while the other two were basically hopping up and down on their seats.

Aang put his hand on his forehead, rubbing his head, "Now…Wh-How did you get here? I thought we put you back in the orphanage…"

"You did, but Ms. Haniakitoki was getting all mad at us so we jumped out the window and ran to you guys, we grabbed onto your bison's tail and we've been here the whole time!" Buyou explained happily.

Aang's eyes widened. "Wait…You jumped out the window? That place was like…five stories tall!"

"Yeah, we know, but we jumped onto Usagi's rock…" Noboro said, smiling.

"Usagi's….Rock?" Katara asked, one of her eyebrows rising.

"Yeah, I'm an earth bender!" Usagi shouted, bouncing up and down.

"So…You made a giant rock come up and catch you? Is that how you got up here?" Suki asked, also looking confused.

"Yep, we saw you guys leaving so we thought we'd join you!" Usagi said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Are you guys going on an adventure?!" Buyou asked, loudly, grinning widely.

"Uhhh, sorta. Some of the nations have been seeing weird lights and we're going to go check it out," Aang said, loosing his confused look.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Can we come!? Can we come?! Pweaaasseee, Avatar Aang?! Pweaaaasseee?!" All the kids pleaded, once again jumping up and down in front of the very confuzled gaang.

All three of them started using the puppy dog face and Katara couldn't stand it, "Aww, Aang. You can't resist that widdle adorable face," she said, using her 'talking to "widdle" kids' voice as she grabbed onto Usagi, making her look at Aang. (A/N That was a mouthful)

"Katara, we can't take them. They have to go back to the orphanage," Aang said, pointing towards the direction of the orphanage.

"Yeah, Aang. But they hate it there, you can't make them go back," Katara pleaded, using her own puppy-dog face that Aang really couldn't resist falling for.

"Oh, fine. They can come, just stop the puppy dog face!" Aang said, trying to hide his eyes from the puppy-dog faces.

"YAY!" All three kids shouted, running around on Appa's saddle, prancing around like wild hog monkeys.

"Wait a minute, Wait a minute," Sokka said, cutting into the little prancing group, "If you're going to temporarily be part of Team Avatar, we need to see what you can do, fighting style," He used some of his, what he can call, Kung Fu action moves to demonstrate.

"I can kick people!" Usagi yelled, raising up her hand. The rest of the gaang watching began to giggle.

Aang then explained it better, "Okay, how many of you can bend?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I can bend!" Usagi said, raising her hand up again.

"Okay," Aang said, turning his head to the boys, "Can either of you?"

"Nope," Noboru said.

"Uh, uhh," Buyou also said, shaking his head 'no'.

"Then what can you guys do?" Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I have a mallet," Noboru said, "Mallet please, Usagi."

Usagi jumped up and ran over to the back of the saddle, earth bending their rock onto the saddle and opening it up. The whole group looked at the large rock in confusion, except for the little children. Usagi grabbed the mallet out of the rock and handed it to Noboru.

"See?" Noboru said, handing the mallet to Aang.

Aang picked it up and looked at it. It was a stick that was larger on one end and on the bigger end it had rocks implanted in it.

Sokka took it from Aang and admired it, "Now **that, **is a manly tool," He handed it back to Noboru, "You're hired!….how old are you?"

"Seven," Noboru said.

"Seven, huh?" Sokka muttered to himself, "That'll do! You're hired!"

"Now what can you do, Buyou?" Aang asked, kneeling down next to the boy.

"I have poison, paralyze, and pain-pincher spit darts," Buyou said, proudly.

"Care to explain what those things are?" Sokka asked, looking very interested in the subject.

"Well, I use my bamboo reed to spit the darts out at people, if the poison one hits you, well, you will be poisoned and will most likely die. Only I have the antidote. If the paralyze dart hits you, you're temporarily paralyzed and you'll fall to the ground. If the pain-pincher dart hits you, it won't do anything but hurt for a few minutes. That one's good for distracting people if you need to get away. I can also run real fast." Buyou explained, making Sokka go wide-eyed with enjoyment.

"This kid's awesome! I'm so glad he's in our group!" Sokka said, then he whispered to Buyou, "You're going to have to teach me how to use those."

"Okay," Buyou whispered back.

"So, Usagi," Toph said, leaning back on Appa's saddle, "You like to earth bend?"

"Yeah! A lot!" Usagi exclaimed.

"Now, do you feel that you need to be pretty and proper to be a girl?" Toph said, getting right up in Usagi's face.

"No! You need to be yourself, no matter what anyone else says!" Usagi yelled.

"Do you feel tough being an earth bender?!" Toph yelled, raising her arm up in the air.

"YEAH!" Usagi screamed back, jumping up from her seat.

"All right! I like this kid already!" Toph yelled, grinning, giving Usagi a high-five, surprisingly not missing.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

After a long time of talking, the group finally made it back to the Fire Nation capital. Soon enough, they were all inside the main hall of the Fire Nation Palace. They all took a seat on the benches surrounding the area.

A group of Fire Nation admirals and generals came up to Aang a few minutes later.

"We have pin-pointed where the source of the lights is, but we can not reach it." Admiral Mako said.

"Why can't you reach it, is there something in the way?" Aang asked, looking confused.

"No, Avatar Aang." Admiral Mako said, "There are many large waves coming from that area, too large and fast to go though to the source. In fact, we've had to cancel all fishing in that area, and if we don't stop it soon, many of the villages in that area will starve."

"So you need us to go to it and stop it?" Aang asked, as Katara leaned on his shoulder.

"Yes," All of the generals said.

"Not to sound lazy, but why do you need _us _to go and stop it, can't you just fly over the waves in an airship?" Aang suggested.

"No, we tried that before we sent you the letters and the ship went down, few of the crewmembers survived. We can't risk any more people dieing, Avatar Aang, this is most likely spiritual and you are the most power spiritual person in the world," General Shinu said.

"Ok, we should probably get going," Aang suggested. The group stood up and started to walk out, being thanked by the admirals and generals. As they were walking, a servant ran up to the group.

"I have a letter for Sokka of the Water Tribe," The servant said, handing Sokka the scroll.

"Hey, cool," Sokka said, "I love getting mail," He began to read it, "Oh my gosh!"

"What is it?" Everyone asked, turning to Sokka.

"It's from Piandao, he says he wants me to come and learn new sword techniques with my space sword, and that he will come with me to the Earth Kingdom to go find it! And while I'm there I could possibly go and find Boomerang!" Sokka yelled happily, in his usual sarcastic voice.

"But," Sokka said, "What about you guys? Don't you want me to come with you?"

"Yes, but we'll be fine, you go and find your weapons, we know how much you love them," Katara said, smiling.

"Okay, thanks guys," Sokka said, grabbing Suki's hand and starting to walk out, "Wait, can I take Appa?"

"Uhh, sure I guess, we can just use a boat then," Aang said, shrugging his shoulders. Sokka and Suki ran out to Appa and took off.

"Umm, I don't think so, Me plus boat equals death for Toph, I can't see out there," Toph exclaimed.

"This is going to be so exciting! Our first adventure!" Buyou yelled happily to his friends. They all shouted with joy back to him.

"Oh, no no no no no, you guys are staying here, this could get dangerous, you'll have your first adventure later," he said, then to Toph, "Toph, how 'bout you stay here and watch them for us, okay?"

"Okay, whatever," Toph said shrugging.

"So, I guess it's just you, me, and Zuko then," Katara said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I guess so," Zuko said.

Then, all of a sudden, the fire sages ran up to Zuko, "Fire Lord Zuko, We need you for an important meeting about the bandit problem, you need to come with us now,"

"Okay, then," Zuko said, then to Aang and Katara, "You guys can go on with out me, uh, just don't die."

Katara's face turned annoyed, "Nice encouragement there, Zuko, thanks,"

Zuko smirked, "Happy to help," He walked off with the sages and left Aang and Katara alone.

"So, now it's just you and me," Katara said.

"Okay then," Aang said, "Let's go get a boat."

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

After searching for a bit, Aang and Katara found a boat and got into it, sailing out towards the mysterious lights. As they approached the area where the source was, there were no waves whatsoever, just flat ocean with the occasional small wave.

"Are we in the right place? It's so calm here." Katara asked, looking around.

"Yeah, this is the right place alright, the lights are obviously coming from right over there in the ocean." Aang said, pointing to an area in the ocean.

The calmness all changed when a very large whirlpool formed from that exact spot in the ocean, pulling Aang and Katara's boat in very fast.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

_Author's Notes: As I said up there, I am soooooooo sorry for making you wait for a month, a week, and a day. I really didn't intend on waiting this long to update. I have been going to summer camps and vacations and I've been having writer's block. Basically, I have been the busiest girl on the planet for the past month, week, and a day. _

_Ok, so as you can see, I brought back the three kids, just like I said I would, and I gave this chapter a cliffy! I know some of you people hate them but I am just so tired, it's 12:31AM and I cannot keep my eyes open._

_By the way, my birthday is in exactly 2 weeks, be sure to wish me a happy birthday! I'll be writing an Avatar birthday story in honor of my b-day. _

_Tell me if you liked this chapter! I like to hear your input on my chapters! Hope you liked it. I promise the next one will be out sooner! I'm not as busy in July. _

_Okay, so please review and no flamers please!_

_:)_

_-AangKatara777 _


	4. Chapter 3: The Investigation: Part 1

_(A/N)- Okay, so heres the new chapter, yay! :)_

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Book 4

Air

_Chapter 3:_

The Investigation

-Part 1-

***

**Outside the Fire Nation, Out at sea. (early afternoon)**

_After searching for a bit, Aang and Katara found a boat and got into it, sailing out towards the mysterious lights. As they approached the area where the source was, there were no waves whatsoever, just flat ocean with the occasional small wave._

"_Are we in the right place? It's so calm here." Katara asked, looking around._

"_Yeah, this is the right place alright, the lights are obviously coming from right over there in the ocean." Aang said, pointing to an area in the ocean._

_The calmness all changed when a very large whirlpool formed from that exact spot in the ocean, pulling Aang and Katara's boat in very fast._

"Gah!" Aang and Katara yelled, as their boat quickly jerked forwarded, making them fall to the floor.

Aang helped Katara up and he tried to bend their boat back, so that it wouldn't get sucked in to the whirlpool, but he couldn't. It was as if the whirlpool was using bending against them. It started to downpour, raining painfully on the couples' faces. Aang quickly wrapped his arms around Katara and held her to his chest, trying his very best to keep her safe from harm.

Suddenly, Katara's eyes opened wide and she gasped, looking over his shoulder, "What is that!?" she yelled, pointing up at the sky at a large waterspout forming from inside the whirlpool, going up.

Aang turned around right as the waterspout hit their boat, sending Katara and Aang flying into the ocean, only speeding up how fast they were getting sucked in.

Aang tried his best to keep his head above water but it proved to be very hard, so he went under, desperately searching for Katara, praying to the spirits she wasn't sucked in yet.

He saw her, half-unconscious, about ten feet away so he lunged forward using his waterbending and grabbed onto her, swiftly pulling her up and out of the sea.

Aang looked down at her as she slowly started to wake up, "Are you okay?" Aang asked her, looking straight into her eyes.

Katara coughed and then replied, "Yeah, I'm fine," smiling.

They swam as fast as they could, fighting the current, to a piece of the boat that had now been ripped to pieces except for a few larger boards. They grabbed on, and Katara said, distressed, "The boat is gone! How are we gonna get back?!"

Aang pushed back using waterbending and replied, "I don't know, this is wearing me out, but I'll improvise,"

Katara clung to him tighter, "Usually when we improvise, things go wrong!"

Aang turned her head to face him, "Just trust me!"

"I do…" Katara mumbled.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**Somewhere on the ocean between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, on Appa (early afternoon)**

"This is so great!" Sokka exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down in his seat, "I'm gonna get boomerang back!"

Suki giggled and placed a kiss on his cheek, "I know you will," but then she thought about it a little more, "But where are you going to find it? I'm pretty sure you weren't going to pay specific attention to the exact spot you were in that area. It could take days, or weeks, maybe even months to find it!"

"My instincts tell me I'll be able to find it, they will lead me right to boomerang and my space sword," Sokka said, laying back.

"I hope so," Suki said, also laying back, "You love them so much."

Sokka turned and smiled at her, "But not as much as I love you,"

Suki blushed and smiled as Sokka gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**Fire Nation Palace, Fire Nation. (early afternoon)**

"Ok," Toph said, walking back and forth in front of the three children, "My name's Toph and I am in charge of you three until Aang and Katara return from their mission, or if Zuko returns from his 'bandit meeting'. So, we are going to play a game,"

Usagi raised her hand, "Yes, Usagi?" Toph asked, sensing from the vibrations that she raised her hand.

"What kind of game?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah, what do we do?!" Noboru added.

"It's called the quiet game, you-," Toph started, getting interrupted by Boyou.

"MY MOM LOVED THAT GAME!"

"Well, good. So you're familiar with the rules?" Toph asked, bending over and looking straight into the boy's face.

"Yup, my mom used to play that with me, before she died…" Buyou added, mumbling at the end.

"Well, then this will remind you of her, and it will be fun!" Toph said, smiling.

"I guess…"

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**Outside the Fire Nation, Out at sea. (early afternoon)**

"We have to get out of here, Aang, we can come back later when we get Appa back from Sokka!" Katara yelled over the loud cracks thunder and rain.

"Way ahead of you!" Aang yelled, holding tightly onto Katara and entering the avatar state, making there be a bright white light in the middle of darkness. He bent the whirlpool and the waterspout completely frozen and power launched him and Katara through the water, then exiting the avatar state.

Aang quickly made an ice raft and Katara and him climbed on.

"Whew…..what a rush…" Katara said, squeezing the water from her hair.

"I'll say," Aang said, laying down on their raft, the water had calmed down and the lights went away.

Katara laid down beside him and said, "We should be getting back, I can see the Palace in the distance, and Zuko and Toph are probably waiting for us,"

Aang sighed and said, "Let me just rest a bit before I start bending again, it was hard to keep us both from getting sucked in or just drowning."

Katara scooted closer to him, "Okay, you did good, I'm so proud of you,"

Aang smiled and Katara and him slowly drifted into sleep.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"Wow" Toph exclaimed, "You guys are doing pretty good!"

The three children were sitting in a circle, talking in their own version of sign language. While Toph was sitting back, relaxing on a lounge chair with a fruit drink.

Usagi stood up and walked over to Toph, she carved in the floor, 'Hou do we win?'

Toph put her hand to the floor and felt for the vibrations of what the kid wrote. "Uh, sorry, Usagi, but I don't read," she waved her hand in front of her face for effect, "I'm sorta blind."

Usagi started to mope towards her friends but Toph then said, "Okay, we'll have a time out, what do you need?"

Usagi turned around and said, "I want to know how we win the game,"

"Oh," Toph said, her eyes widening, "Well…uh," she hadn't really thought of that, but then she came up with an idea, "It's such a good, fun-to-play game, that everyone wins!"

All the kids turned to each other hopping up and down, "We all won! YAY!"

"Ok, now do you guys wanna go play on the beach? I'm bored…" Toph said, pointing towards the beach.

"YEAH!" they all shouted in unison.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang woke up to a dark sky and rain falling hard on his face, waves were beginning to form, and they weren't the nice calm ones that gently rock your boat. They were the kind that go over your boat and get you in a shipwreck. (_Ahhh, isn't weather nice. :)_

Their makeshift ice raft tilted up and Katara, who was just now waking up, started to slip off. Aang quickly grabbed a hold of the side of the ice and grabbed onto Katara's arm and pulled her up, "Hang on!" he yelled, and Katara did so, trying her best not to slip off.

Aang almost slipped and yelled, "I don't think having a slippery ice raft in the middle of a bad storm is that good!"

"I agree with that!" Katara yelled in reply, tightening her grip on the ice.

Aang then came up with an idea, "Let go!"

Katara turned to him, shocked, "What!? Are you trying to kill us?!"

"You said you trusted me earlier, why not now!" Aang yelled as a small wave crashed on them as a larger one started to form ahead of them.

"I…I don't know," Katara said, closing her eyes and thinking it over, she then looked up at Aang and hesitantly said, "Okay,"

"When I count to three, we both let go, okay?!" Aang told her.

Katara bit her lip and replied, "O-okay,"

"One!" Katara bit her lip harder as she prepared to let go. The wave got bigger and was starting to head towards them.

"Two!" She eyes Aang who hardly looked scared about letting go, he turned to her and smiled. The wave drew nearer.

"Three!" Aang yelled as they let go, at the same time the wave crashed onto their ice raft.

Katara sunk underwater and slowly opened her eyes looking for Aang; he swam up to her and held onto her as he bent a cocoon of air around them, pushing back the water. He froze the cocoon and bent the cocoon towards the beach of the Fire Nation Palace.

There was hardly any air in their cocoon and Katara was struggling with the fact that she couldn't breathe. Aang put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as if he was telling her they were almost there.

With a sudden jolt, the two crash landed on the beach and were knocked unconscious.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"Okay now, guys," Toph said, as they all walked onto the beach, "I can't swim so don't drown. And if you do, I can't come in and get you, okay? Now. Go have fun or whatever."

"Okay!" The three kids once again shouted in unison.

Toph sat down and started making gigantic sand sculptures of random things, while the three kids splashed around in the water, and making tiny sand sculptures.

Usagi ran over to Toph, "How are you making such big sand sculptures so fast?" she asked in wonder.

"Well, I learned how to sand-bend," Toph said, bending the sand around to her will.

"You can really bend sand?! Can you teach me?!" Usagi asked happily, hopping up and down.

"Uh, sure, I guess, but it's pretty hard," Toph said, shrugging.

"Can I still try?" Usagi asked, her lower lip sticking out.

Toph sighed, saying, "Fine,"

But right as Toph said fine, an ice cocoon flew by and smashed into the walls behind them. Noboru and Buyou quickly jumped out of the water and ran up to the cocoon. Buyou knocked on the ice and looked through it.

"There's people in it!" he shouted, Toph and Usagi ran up as Noboru grabbed his mallet and started tapping the ice, trying to break it without hurting the people inside. It didn't take that long to break through because most of the ice was cracked from the crash.

Everyone but Toph looked in and yelled, "It's Avatar Aang and his girlfriend!"

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"So, we will send in more soldiers to gather the bandits?" General Shu stated, looking through a stack of papers.

"Yes, and hopefully that'll-," Zuko started, as a crash came out from the distance, "What was that!?" he yelled, running over to a window.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Zuko ran out to the beach and saw everyone huddled over an ice cocoon, he ran up and looked in at the two unconscious teens inside, "What happened?" he asked in shock.

"We were playing and then BOOM! There was a big crash and we saw them over here!" Noboru yelled, holding his hands up in the air.

"Well, whatever happened, we need to get them to the infirmary," Zuko said, then calling the servants over to get them. They placed them on mats and carried them to the infirmary.

"I'll send a messenger hawk to Sokka, he should come back, just for another day." Zuko said, walking back to the palace.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Sokka was startled by the messenger hawk landing on his lap and cawing loudly, "Okay, Okay, shhhh!" he said angrily to it. It stopped cawing and let Sokka take out the message, it read-

_Sokka, _

_Your sister and Aang came back from their mission, but they were unconscious and they are now in the infirmary, I'm asking you to please come back and make sure they are okay. _

_Zuko_

Sokka thought about it for alittle. Katara and Aang….or Boomerang and Space Sword.

He smiled and turned around, heading back towards the Fire Nation.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"Uhnnnn," Katara groaned as she sat up, her head hurting really badly.

"Sounds like your awake," Sokka said, walking into the room smiling.

Katara smiled and put her hand up to her head, feeling for anything unusual. She was greeted by a very large bump there and she groaned in pain. Zuko walked in smiling and sat down on a chair.

"How ya doin?" he asked, putting a hand on her bump.

"Ow," Katara mumbled, "What happened, anyway?"

"You crashed, we ran and got you, here you are," Zuko said, smiling.

"I just got here like 5 minutes ago, so I really don't know what happened." Sokka said, chuckling a bit.

"Aang made that cocoon and he shot it out towards the beach, unfortunately he didn't slow down in time, and we crashed I guess." Katara said, "Well, I better get this healed, do you have any water?"

Zuko turned around and shouted towards the door, "Bowl of Water,"

In less than a minute, a servant came with a bowl of water towards Katara and kneeled down, handing it to her.

"Well that works," Katara said, giggling as the servant ran out of the room, "Being royalty must be fun,"

"Yeah, they come so quickly it's like they're lined up outside the hallway with everything I could possibly want," Zuko said, laughing, Katara and Sokka also starting to laugh**.**

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

"_Yeah, they come so quickly it's like they're lined up outside the hallway with everything I could possibly want,"_

The head servant sighed and whispered, "He knows, back to your cabins."

All the rest of the hundreds of servants sighed and went back to their cabins, carrying everything Zuko could possibly want.

(_a/n- that was random, I know)_

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Katara took the water and healed her head, sighing in relief when the throbbing in her head went away, she got up and went over to Aang and healed him and he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

He looked up and saw that he was in an infirmary and he got wide-eyed, grabbing his head asking, "I don't have hair again, do I?"

Everyone laughed and stood up, leaving the room to meet with General Shinu to tell them about their mission.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Once in the room, everyone sat down with General Shinu and their meeting began.

"So, what did you two find out about the lights, are they going to keep on going or did you successfully stop them," Shinu asked.

"Well, it wasn't that easy to do, General Shinu," Katara said, meekly.

"Yeah," Aang agreed, "When we got there, everything was calm and we saw where the lights were coming from, but as soon as we looked at it, a gigantic whirlpool formed in that exact spot and started to suck us in, we almost drowned,"

"So," General Shinu said, "The lights form whirlpools?"

"Not only that, sir," Katara said, "After a little bit, it started to rain and a giant waterspout formed from inside of it, it crashed into our boat and we still were getting sucked in, Aang saved me by going into the Avatar State and shooting us out of there, but then another storm happened,"

"After all of that," Aang finished, "We had to get out of there so we got ourselves in that ice cocoon and shot onto the beach,"

"Do you plan to return?" General Shinu asked, looking at Aang and Katara.

Aang and Katara looked at each other and nodded, then they turned to Shinu and said, "Yes, now that we have Appa back, it will be much easier to investigate the lights."

"Okay, but you should go after breakfast is served in the morning, it seems to have died down so you two can relax," he said, and Katara and Aang nodded.

"I'll go tomorrow too, I don't think there are any meetings tomorrow morning," Zuko said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Me too, I'll get my weapons later in the day, I think Piandao can wait another day," Sokka said, smiling.

Katara and Aang turned around and Aang said, "Thanks,"

"So that means I'm still stuck with babysitting duty?" Toph pouted, raising an eyebrow.

Buyou, Noboru, and Usagi ran up next to Aang, using their puppy-dog faces against him, "No, no! Anything but that! No!" Aang said, desperately trying to hide his face from the little kids' hypnotic spell. He managed to get it off his mind but Katara wasn't so lucky.

"Awww, Aang! We gotta now, that's so adorable," Katara said in a baby voice.

And, just like before, Aang turned to see Katara using her puppy-dog face that he just can't resist, so somehow, Aang got tricked into letting them go.

"Awwww! Fine….," Aang muttered.

"Yay!" the children yelled in joy.

Aang sighed and left for the dining room, dinner was going to be served soon.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Katara joined Aang at the grand dining room and sat next to him. He smiled and took her hand in his and started to lean in to kiss when suddenly-

"WE'RE GONNA SIT BY YOU, AVATAR AANG!"

"Gah!" Aang and Katara shouted as the three kids piled up next to Aang, ripping right through the hand holding coupled, trying to get as close to him as humanly possible. Noboru and Buyou were on both of his sides and Usagi sat next to Katara and Buyou.

Katara grew sad and looked over at Aang, and he looked back, also looking sad, but also embarrassed. "What are you gonna have, Mister Avatar Aang?"

"Yeah, we're gonna get exactly what you get!" Noboru exclaimed.

"I became vegetarian just for this moment!" Buyou shouted with glee.

Usagi looked over from Katara to Aang and back to Katara, and scooted closer to Katara, "What are you gonna get, Miss Katara?"

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure yet," Katara smiled at the young girl.

"Is it okay if I get what you get?" Usagi asked, with big puppy-dog eyes.

"Oh, er, sure, I guess," Katara said, giving her an unsure smile.

"Okay, so, how long have you and Aang and Sokka and Toph, and Fire Lord Zuko been traveling?" Usagi asked Katara, "How did you all meet?"

"Oh, well, I came from the Southern Water Tribe-,"

"IS IT REALLY COLD THERE?!"

Katara's eyes widened at the sudden enthusiasm, but then she said, "Well, yeah, we have to wear coats all the time," Katara looked up at Aang, who was also being pestered with questions, "But I met Aang because me and Sokka were fishing, and we came across a gigantic circular iceberg and I used Sokka's mallet to break it open,"

Katara giggled at the memory, "And then Aang, this strange boy with tattoos," she looked up at Aang, and Usagi turned to look at his arrows, "he fell out of the iceberg and he said, 'I need to ask you something,' and then, 'please come closer', and then he said to me, 'Will you go penguin sledding with me?'" Katara couldn't help but laugh out loud, making everyone in the room stare at her.

She immediately looked up, blushing from embarrassment, "I uh….thought…uh, of something…er, funny?"

Everyone shrugged and went back to their own business, Katara sighed in relief.

"What's penguin sledding?" Usagi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, penguin sledding is a game that a lot of kids play in the South Pole, you get on the back of a penguin and slid down a hill really fast, it's a lot of fun," Katara said, smiling.

"Do you think you and Aang could take me penguin sledding sometime?" Usagi asked with pleading eyes.

Katara smiled, "I bet we could squeeze that in sometime,"

"Yay!" she yelled.

Katara looked over at Aang, who looked at her more embarrassed then before cause the kids were pulling on Aang's collar and at his arms, asking him numerous questions, "Could you possibly sit on the other side of me?" Katara whispered to Usagi.

"Sure," Usagi said, jumping from her seat and sitting next to Katara's left side.

Katara then asked Noboru very nicely if he could sit on the other side of Aang, he pouted a little bit before agreeing and moving over. Katara scooted next to Aang, smiling as he turned his head and blushed, also smiling at her.

"Where were we?" Aang asked, smiling romantically.

"I think I can remember," Katara said, leaning in, her eyes half lidded. Aang began to lean in and-

"OH! Such a happy couple!" Sokka yelled, as he squeezed a chair in-between Aang and Katara, causing them to grunt with frustration.

"Okay, so Aang, I've been given the honor of interviewing you, IN DISGUISE!" Sokka said, stoking his beard that he's kept since the time Aang went to that fire nation school.

Aang's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "How are you in disguise if I know who you are?!"

"You may know, and Katara may know, but everyone else, DOSEN'T KNOW!" Sokka stated, stroking the beard again.

Just then, Zuko walked up behind them and said, "Hey, Sokka,"

Sokka's eyes opened wide and he took off the beard in defeat, "It's pretty obvious isn't it,"

Katara and Aang nodded in annoyance. The food was served and the feast began, starting out with honoring the fact that they had the Avatar there as their honored guest. Aang said his thank-you's to everyone and he sat down, and everyone began to eat.

"What are you getting, Mister Avatar Aang!" Buyou and Noboru yelled, jumping onto Aang's lap.

"Oof! Uh….Veggie…Egg rolls and noodles….with rice," Aang sputtered out as the kids continued jumping on him.

Katara asked them nicely to get off and they responded with, "Okay……RAID THE EGG ROLLS!"

All of the three kids ran onto the table towards the egg rolls, creating a huge commotion making Sokka get up to run and get them.

Aang smiled towards Katara and took her hand saying, "Come with me,"

Katara blushed and smiled, "Okay,"

Aang and Katara ran towards a hidden balcony and closed the doors to the dining room, "Whew," Katara breathed once they got the door closed. They both walked over to the side of the balcony and looked at the sun setting, you could just see the sliver of sun that was left in the sky.

"This is a romantic setting," Katara said to Aang.

"Yeah….It sure is," Aang said, wrapping his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

Katara turned to him and smiled, blushing bright red, Aang started to lean in and Katara followed and they kissed, locked in each other's embrace until the need for air was too much. Then they broke apart and laughed, they still weren't used to the kissing thing.

They went back to the dining room and pushed Sokka into another seat (Totally dissing his plans of interviewing Aang) and scooting next to each other, going on with the feast, holding hands the entire time.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Later everyone went to their rooms, falling asleep so that they could be wide awake for their mission in the morning.

Katara was fast asleep in her room, the sun had set and the moon had risen, when all of a sudden, Aang jumped into her room from the window.

He walked over to her with his staff and gently put his hand on her shoulder to wake her up. Katara stirred and with a small, quiet groan she woke up and lazily turned to Aang. When she saw Aang standing next to her she almost gasped, but Aang covered her mouth with his hand and shhh-ed her. She sighed when she realized it was only Aang.

She yawned and sat up, "What are you doing here? How did you get up here? The door's locked."

Aang smirked happily, "Airbender. Glider. Open window. I have my ways,"

Katara smacked her face, "Duh…Aang, I'm half asleep, you can't blame me,"

"I know," Aang chuckled, "But come on, I have something to show you,"

Katara buried her face in her pillow and her voice was muffled by it, "Can't it wait till morning…it's sleepy time,"

Aang chuckled and grabbed her arm, slowly and gently pulling her up out of her bed, he stood her up but she fell over onto him. Thankfully, he caught her and turned around, telling her to get onto his back.

She yawned and did so, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and her legs wrapped around his middle. He walked over to the window and jumped out, gliding up to the edge of the volcano that the palace was in.

"Close your eyes," Aang told Katara.

"I'm already doing that," Yawned a half-asleep Katara.

Aang smiled and landed, carefully letting Katara off of his back, he guided her over to the edge to sit down and she did, yawning once more and not opening her eyes.

"When do I get to open them, I'm gonna fall asleep if I don't, and I don't necessarily wanna die falling down the side of a volcano, asleep," Katara muttered, yawning at the end.

Aang yawned and said, "Yawning is contagious,"

So there they were, Katara closing her eyes and Aang keeping his over in a battle of yawns.

Katara yawned.

Aang yawned.

Katara yawned.

Aang yawned.

(_a/n haha, I just yawned)_

They both started to laugh and Aang said, when I count to three, I want you to open your eyes, okay?"

"Okay," Katara replied.

"Okay, one, two, three!" Aang said, smiling.

Katara opened her eyes and saw the mysterious lights floating all around the night sky, she gaped at it with a smile on her face as she said to Aang in amazement, "Wow, Aang! It's so beautiful! It's so….Amazing, there's not a thing to describe it!"

Aang blushed and put his hand over hers, "But it's not even half of what you are,"

Katara turned to him and blushed madly, "You….you really think I'm beautiful?"

"Katara," Aang breathed, "Didn't I tell you a few days ago? When I woke up in the iceberg, I thought I was dead and you were my angel, you can't get more beautiful than an angel," then he chuckled, "You're the one exception,"

Katara blushed even more so, she felt like all of the blood in her body flowed up to her cheeks that moment, "Wow, Aang. You really have a way with words," She smiled.

Aang smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I love you,"

Katara smiled back and whispered in his ear, "I love you, too,"

She laid back and realized how tired she really was; she curled up in a ball and fell asleep, Aang laid down next to her and started to stroke her hair.

After about ten minutes, he picked her up and jumped down to Katara's room, careful not to wake her up, and gently set her down on her bed. He pulled her covers up and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Katara,"

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_Okay! So, there's another chapter, and it came in 16 days earlier than last time! :)_

_Tell me what your favorite parts of this chapter were, what you think I should have more of, etc. I love to hear what you guys think!_

_Haha, I think it's funny that I started writing this story EXACTLY 72 hours(3 days) ago, and now I'm finished with it at that same time, 10:!4PM, 3 days earlier. What is up with that…_

_Okay, well, I hope you liked the 4 chapter of my story(Even though it's Chapter 3: The Investigation-part 1)_

_Buh Bye, and now, as Katara would say, "It's sleepy time"_

_-AangKatara777_


	5. Chapter 4: The Investigation: Part 2

_NEW CHAPTER ALERT! OH YEAH! UH HUH! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! Okay, party time over._

_Yes this is shorter than part 1......deal with it please, I'm tired :) _

_Yet somehow happy! :D_

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Book 4

Air

_Chapter 3:_

The Investigation

-Part 2-

_*******_

**Fire Suites, Fire Nation Palace, Fire Nation. (Late Morning). **_(a/n Fire Fire Fire, lol)_

Katara awoke the next morning with a yawn, silently pulling her covers away from her body and sitting up. She jumped out of her bed and walked up to the window, slightly opening up the curtains to let some light in. She yawned once more and looked out at the garden, admiring the beauty.

She looked up and the sun shone in her face, causing her to turn away and face her room. A knock came from the door and she walked up to it, slowly opening it up while rubbing her eyes.

"Hello?" She asked, as she opened the door.

"Good morning, Katara," Aang said with a smile, "Did you sleep well?"

Katara smiled back and replied, "Good morning to you, too, and yes I did,"

"That's good," Aang said, "Do you mind if I-," He motioned towards inside her room.

Katara turned towards her room and back, "Oh, sure, not at all, come in," She motioned for him to come in.

They both walked in and Katara shut the door, "So, what did you need?"

"Huh?" Aang asked, turning to Katara, "Oh, nothing, I was just coming to escort you to breakfast, but I see you've just woken up," He looked at her mess of bed head, and how she was still in her nightgown.

Katara giggled, also looking down at herself and said, "Yeah, escort, huh? Fancy."

Aang chuckled and said, "Yeah, everyone else is down there eating, but I won't start till you do,"

"Awww, you're sweet," Katara said, walking over to her vanity and beginning to do her hair.

Aang walked over and stood behind her, watching her do her hair. She pulled out her bun and undid her "hair loopies", starting to comb through it, taking out the knots and tangles.

_Wow, she has beautiful hair, Oh, I wish I could comb it instead of her…_

"Hey, Aang?" Katara asked, slightly turning her head towards him.

"Yeah?" Aang responded, shaking out of his thoughts and lifting up an eyebrow.

"Could you comb through my hair a bit, I think I lost my 'hair loopie' ties," Katara said, getting a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Aang blushed and said, "Uhh, sure," But then he smiled.

_YES! Aang scores once more! Yeah! Woo!_

He started combing through her chocolate colored hair and smiled, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

"There they are," Katara said, reaching for the missing ties.

Aang handed her the comb back, slightly saddened at the fact that he didn't get to comb it anymore. Katara made her hair loopies but decided to do something different with her hair, so instead of a bun, she tied her hair into a braid with the rest of her hair flowing down her back like usual.

Aang blushed at her beauty and Katara noticed, giggling slightly, "Okay, now stand outside the hall way while I find something to wear."

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

**Breakfast Dining Hall, Fire Nation Palace, Fire Nation (Late Morning) **_(a/n Here's the maiko that a lot of you wanted, this is really my first time attempting maiko, so I hope I did a good job! :P)_

"So, how's your scar feeling? Does it still hurt?" Mai asked Zuko, slightly leaning on in shoulder as he took a bite of his pastry.

"Which one?" Zuko chuckled a bit.

Mai half-smiled and said, "The new one,"

"Oh, that one, it's better now," Zuko said, smiling at his girlfriend, "Aren't you gonna eat?" He asked looking at her clean, empty plate.

"I'm not really that hungry," Mai muttered, while sighing.

Zuko looked concerned, "Is something wrong? Is Sokka grossing you out?" He said with a chuckle as he looked at the warrior sitting three seats away from him.

Suki was sitting at the table, her face in her hands as she sat next to her boyfriend, who was pigging out on everything he could get to.

"SUKI!" He shouted, causing her to jump in surprise, "Aren't you gonna eat?! This place has meats I've never even heard of!"

Suki sighed, "I think I've lost my appetite…"

"Suit yourself!" Sokka exclaimed, continuing digging into his food.

Zuko grimaced and turned back to Mai, then she muttered, "It's hard to eat when you're in pain,"

Zuko lifted up an eyebrow, "But I just told you I was fine. It only hurts if you touch it, okay? I'm fine."

Mai sighed and muttered, "Okay," grabbing for a strawberry pastry.

Zuko smiled and continued eating.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

After about ten minutes, Katara walked out of her room in a blue kimono with a light blue belt and white flowers at the bottom. Aang blushed and couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Wow, you look great," Aang managed to say, walking up to her and interlocking their arms.

Katara blushed and said, "Thanks,"

"Okay, let's go," Aang smiled, leading her down the hallway for breakfast.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Toph was sitting somewhere near the middle of the giant table, she had a crème filled dumpling in her hands and her feet were on the table, keeping her chair balanced even though it was tilted back.

She took a large bite out of her dumpling and she chewed it with her mouth open.

Some of the Fire Nation Nobles walked up to her with sour expressions on their face, "Miss?" they asked, trying to keep their cool.

Toph turned slightly to them and said, "What,"

"You are being a nuisance to everyone at this table! We are going to have to ask you to leave if you cannot sit and eat properly!" They stated, anger clear in their voices.

Toph turned towards them even more, "Okay then, now I have something to tell to you,"

The Fire Nation Nobles glared down at her as she began to talk, "What were you guys doing during Sozin's Comet?"

The Fire Nobles exchanged glances and said, "We were in the Fire Nation, working on lots of war paperwork,"

"Oh really?" Toph asked, "You weren't admiring all of the power you had at the time from the Comet?"

"Well, yes, we were, but we mostly did the paperwork," One of the Fire Nobles said.

"Of course you were," Toph said, in her usual sassy tone, "While you guys were playing with your fire and paperwork, sittin' down on your butts, ME AND MY FRIENDS WERE GETTING BARB-E-QUED ON TOP OF AIRSHIPS AND GIANT ROCKS! WE JUST SAVED THE WORLD SO DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT BEING A NUISANCE!" She yelled, causing lots of people to turn towards her.

She felt everyone turn to her so she said, "Hey, it's true and you know it,"

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Aang and Katara walked into the dining room and walked over to two seats near Zuko and Mai, Aang pulled out a seat for Katara and she sat down. Aang pushed her chair in gently and then sat next to her.

They began to eat breakfast when suddenly Katara realized that it was quieter than usual, besides the fact that they were in a room filled with hundreds of people, "Aang?"

Aang turned to her and swallowed the bite of dumpling he had in his mouth, "Yeah?" He smiled.

"Where are Buyou, Noboru, and Usagi?" She asked, looking around for them.

Aang chuckled a bit and finally said, "They were partying in their room all night because they were so happy about going on their first mission today. They were up later then midnight I'm sure. They were keeping me up all night!"

Katara laughed and said, "Okay,"

They continued eating and once they were done, everyone walked back to their rooms to get ready to return to the lights.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

In her room, Suki was pulling her hair into her normal hairstyle and then getting out of her green silk kimono and putting on more flexible Earth Kingdom clothes.

Once she was done, Sokka came into her room in his typical Water Tribe tunic, pants, and boots. He smiled and walked over.

His smiled turned into a slight frown as he said, "You know, I'm not really gonna be of much help here, I don't have any weapons," He looked down sorrowfully.

Suki gave him a reassuring smile, "But you can come up with a good strategy for us to use, your not only the boomerang and sword guy-,"

"Or the ponytail guy,"

"Yeah, or the ponytail guy, you're a strategy guy, you'll be a lot of help," Suki continued, giving Sokka a hug.

Sokka smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess so,"

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Zuko was in his room, sharpening his dual swords. He was already dressed in his Fire Nation tunic etc. and he was ready to go.

Mai walked in, twirling one of her two sided daggers around in her hand, "Hey,"

"Hey,"

"You ready to go?" Mai asked, sitting on his bed next to him.

"Yeah,"

"This place is so boring, I hope these lights we keep hearing about are exciting," Mai muttered, putting her dagger back into her pocket.

"Well, from all that's happened, I'd say they're pretty exciting," Zuko said, kissing Mai on the cheek.

Mai blushed and looked at him, saying, "What was that for?"

"What, can't I just kiss my girlfriend?" Zuko asked, getting a halfway stern expression on his face.

"No, just it doesn't seem like you," She smiled, "You're so happy lately, you always say you're never happy."

Zuko chuckled, "I'm always happy when I'm with you,"

Mai blushed again and they both leaned in to kiss.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

_Why does it take so long for everybody to get ready?!_ Toph thought, walking back and forth across her room. She hadn't dressed up for breakfast so she was all ready to go.

She fell back on her bed, and grunted, waiting for everybody to be ready.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Katara had gotten out of the kimono and into her Water Tribe dress, pants, and boots. She put her hair into her normal hairstyle that she had been using lately.

She was laying back on her bed, resting her eyes, when Aang knocked on her door.

"Come in!" Katara shouted, her eyes still closed as Aang walked into the room and over to her.

Aang chuckled, "If your trying to meditate, that's not how you do it,"

Katara laughed and sat up, scooting her legs over the side of the bed and patting the seat next to her. Aang sat down next to her and she took his hand in hers. Aang blushed madly.

_Gah! I still blush when I'm near her! I'm such a screw up!_

Katara noticed that Aang was blushing and she smiled.

Aang looked up at her and got even more embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I still blush when I'm near you, I just can't get used to the fact that I'm finally _with _you,"

Katara giggled and said, "Well, don't try and stop blushing, I think it's cute!"

Aang's eyes widened with joy, "Really?"

Katara nodded and smiled.

_Yes! I'm not a screw up, I'm not a screw up, I'm not a screw up!_

Aang shook out of his thoughts and said, "So, you ready to go now?"

Katara smiled, standing up, "Yeah, lets go,"

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Everyone was outside, getting onto Appa or already sitting down on the saddle, Aang and Katara climbed onto Appa's head and turned around to see if everyone was here. They looked around but couldn't see the three kids that just _had _to come on this mission.

Aang sighed and started heading for their room to wake them up, Katara slid off of Appa's head and followed, telling everyone that it would be just a little bit. They all nodded and sat back, waiting for them to return.

"Do you think they're okay?" Katara asked, "They haven't woken up at all this morning, and we told them that breakfast was in the morning, don't you think they're hungry?"

Aang continued walking as he said, "Let's stop by the kitchen and get a few pastries for them,"

Katara smiled, "Okay,"

They walked down to the kitchen and got three strawberry pastries and some water canteens filled with cow-rhino milk. They walked down to their dorm and knocked on their door.

Their response was a grunt of annoyance, Aang raised an eyebrow and opened up the door, "Guys, were leaving,"

Instantly, the kids that had been on the floor and beds, fast asleep were rushing across the room getting ready and within one minute, they were standing in front of Aang, arms raised in a salute.

"Buyou! Reporting for duty, Sir!"

"Noboru! Reporting for duty, Sir!"

"Usagi! Also reporting for duty, Sir!"

Katara and Aang laughed and took them all by the hand, leading them out by Appa. They scrambled up Appa's side, getting comfortable on Appa's saddle. Aang jumped up and handed them their pastries and milk and jumped onto Appa's head, where Katara was waiting patiently for him to return.

Katara grabbed his hand and he turned from her to in front of him with a smile on his face, "Yip Yip!"

And they were off.

(a/n -_Heh, heh, it's sorta funny I was almost thinking of ending the chapter there and having a part three, but then I realized I had only had around 2,200 words, lol, I usually range from 4,000-6,000 words)_

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

**Somewhere on the ocean between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, on Appa (a little before noon)**

Within the next hour, the children were running all about on the saddle, annoying everyone as they flew farther and farther out to sea.

Soon enough, the kids fell asleep, making it possible for the other teens to sleep.

Aang stayed awake though, continuing to steer Appa throughout the sky. Katara was laying her head on Aang's shoulder half asleep. She was trying to stay awake so Aang would have some company, but soon, sleep overtook her and Aang sighed.

_Why must I always be the one to stay up…_

I looked on his shoulder and saw Katara, laying her head there, softly snoring. He smiled, and turned towards where the sun would be.

_Looks like there's going to be another storm…great_

The clouds were filling up the sky, he hoped it wouldn't rain, it would wake everyone up. The lights had stopped showing up, so Aang followed where he had seen it before.

After about an hour of flying, everyone woke up and was just relaxing on Appa waiting for them to reach the source. Suddenly, a bright green light shoots out of the ocean, temporarily blinding everyone. The rain starts pour dour and everyone starts desperately trying to stay dry. Aang jumps up and bends a giant air ball around Appa to shield them from the rain.

The giant whirlpool started to form and the three children on Appa were screaming in terror at it. Everyone gasped as the giant waterspout formed out of it once more, heading right for them.

"Katara!" Aang shouted, "Let's bend it like we planned!"

Katara nodded and jumped up next to Aang on Appa's saddle and thrust her hands forward to start bending the gigantic waterspout. They managed to guide in down back into the ocean, causing a giant splash. It came back out of the ocean, going straight up towards Appa.

Aang, noticing this, clamped his hands together in a meditative stance and within seconds his eyes and tattoos began to glow. His face showed anger as he flipped over the side of Appa, guiding himself with airbending to Appa's stomach and pushing off. He was in a spiraling dive heading for the spout. When he hit it, right on the tip, he went inside of it and curled up in a ball, still spinning. Seconds later he thrust his hands and feet out and he blew it up, sending water everywhere.

Appa dove downwards to grab on to Aang, who was now falling down into the ocean. Appa flew under him and everyone grabbed for Aang to pull him down to Appa. He landed with a thud onto Appa's saddle and slowly sat up, holding onto his head.

"Wow, I'm dizzy," He slightly laughed.

"So, what do we do? We can't stop the whirlpool and the waterspout is bound to come back," Katara said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we need to get to the source," Aang began.

"How are we gonna do that, that whirlpool is gigantic," Zuko said.

"We have to go into the whirlpool." Aang said with a serious expression.

Everyone's mouths dropped open, "Are you crazy?! We'll get killed!" Sokka yelled.

Aang became more serious, "I didn't mean you guys…I will,"

Katara immediately got concerned, "No, your more important than us!"

"In my case, it's the other way around," Aang said, his stern, serious expression softening, "You mean everything to me, I can't lose you…"

Katara gazed into his eyes with love and concern.

"Hey! What about us?!" Sokka flared.

Aang turned to him, "I was gonna say you guys too, be patient! Sheesh! Let me rephrase that, you _guys _mean everything to me, I can't lose _any of you_,"

Katara smiled and said, "I'm still going with you,"

Aang's eyes opened wide, "No! You can't, didn't I just say-," Katara put a finger on his mouth to silence him.

"I'm a big girl, Aang," She giggled, "I'll be okay,"

Aang smiled a nervous smiled, "Well…okay, but no one else. Me and Katara are the only ones who can bend water so you guys just need to stay safe okay?"

Everyone nodded except for Buyou, he jumped up and yelled," I wanna go with you!"

Aang sighed, "You can't, it's too dangerous, okay?"

Buyou pouted and sat down, "Fine…"

Katara and Aang positioned themselves over the side of Appa, ready to jump in. Sokka turned towards them from his seat on Appa's head, "You know, I could lower us so you don't have to jump so far and be all extreme,"

Katara and Aang looked down at the at least 70 foot drop to the water, they turned to eachother and smiled nervously, "I think that would be a good idea, Sokka," Katara said.

Sokka chuckled, "It thought you'd say that," He lowered them so that they were around 10 feet above the ocean and they jumped in the cold water, quickly swimming towards the whirl pool.

They took a big breath of air and held onto each other as they were sucked in, more gently than they expected. The speed of the whirlpool thrust them down onto the now uncovered ocean floor. They spat the sat out of their mouths and stood up. They both looked up to see the extremely tall and wide whirlpools inside, spinning and spinning, round and round. They both looked forward and saw a figure standing right outside of the whirlpool, moving his arms around as if he were bending the whirlpool. They looked all around the whirlpool and it was surrounded by figures bending the whirlpool.

Two of the figures were not moving their hands around but holding their arms out, pressing their palms to the walls of the whirlpool, it seemed as if the light was coming from them.

Suddenly, the figures inside dropped their hands to the floor, as well as the other two with the lights. Aang and Katara quickly looked up in fear as the whirlpool began to come crashing down.

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Up above water, everything had calmed mostly down, the rain had stopped but the whirlpool was still going. Everyone on Appa new they were inside it.

They watched it closely and soon lost real interest, they were sure Aang and Katara were fine. Suki continued watching though, a few seconds later she yelled, "IT'S COLLAPSING!"

**.**

**OoO**

_**.**_

Katara screamed and pulled her arms up over her head in a futile attempt at protection, Aang quickly placed them in a large air ball, sending them up. The water hit against it and pushed them back down to the ocean floor. Aang thought fast and replaced his air ball with earth from the sea floor.

They could both hear the water hitting against they're makeshift underwater room, after the water got calm again, Aang thrust their "room" up and out of the water, sending them into the air and dropping the "room" back into the ocean.

Appa quickly flew over to them and everyone pulled the shaken couple onto the saddle.

"Are you guys okay?!" Sokka asked loudly but with concern.

Aang and Katara shakily nodded "yes".

"That whirlpool collapsed on you!" Sokka freaked.

"I couldn't see it, but it was loud!" Toph yelled, raising her arms in.

"That was kinda freaky," Zuko muttered, alittle bit scared too.

"Yup," Mai added.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" The three children yelled in unison.

"You were all like, DIVE! And then, splash! And then wait! And then crash! Boom! Ahhhh! And then you were all like, Fawoosh! And then we caught you!" Buyou yelled excitedly.

Everyone laughed and they began to fly home.

They all fell asleep peacefully on Appa's saddle, as soon as they landed on the Fire Nation Capitol's beach.

**.**

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Author's Notes

_Yay! New Chapter! That's always fun! Oh yeah, and people? Usually don't believe me if I give a date for a new chapter. With school started and getting a TON of homework, it's hard to stay up late and write. But this time I got done so HA! XD_

_I'll try to get the next chapter next week, I SAID TRY._

_But if not, expect it in the next two weeks :)_

_Okay well, good night, cause I'm tired and I have a quiz tomorrow in science :(_

_Buh Bye!_

_-AangKatara777_


	6. Chapter 5: A Day Of Fun

_Author Notes BEFORE: …All I can say…is I AM SO SORRY!…I'm not even going to bring out a list of excuses…I haven't updated in over 2 MONTHS and I feel so bad…Plus, it really sucks, because I didn't put Maiko into it!!! A lot of you wanted Maiko in this and I said I would…And once again, I have broken a promise. _

_I swear that next time, I will make sure to get a little of every shipping into the chapter. The next chapter is another two part one so…yeah, I can probably squeeze that in. _

_This chapter mainly focuses on Kataang, and Noboru/ OC_

…_SOOOOORRRRRYYYYY! :'(_

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 5:

A Day of Fun

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"Is everything ready to go?" Katara asked, peeking over the edge of Appa's saddle. When everyone had woken up in the morning, they planned on leaving for the Earth Kingdom to settle down for a bit.

"Yeah, but I think I left my bison whistle on my bed. I'll be right back!" Aang said happily. The airbender sped off without another word to his room. Katara smiled and leaned against the saddle with a sigh.

Sokka was helping Suki up and Toph was shooting herself and the three kids upwards with a pillar of Earth. Everything was packed and ready to go.

About a minute later, Aang came speeding back to Appa, jumping up onto Appa's head and getting comfortable. Everyone waved to Zuko, who had decided to stay and lead his country, and Mai, who wanted to stay with Zuko, and they flew off in the direction of the Earth Kingdom.

"So, what are we gonna do about those lights, guys?" Aang said, climbing onto the saddle with his friends, "They could mean something,"

"They're just some lights, I'm sure they'll go away eventually," Sokka said in his usual sarcastic tone.

"But, Sokka," Katara said, eyebrow twitching, "Aang and I told you what we saw, there were people down there! We saw them!"

"I doubt there were people down there, Katara, are you sure you weren't just seeing the shadows of fish?" Sokka asked, trying to prove his point.

"Well…no, but, unless those fish could bend water into a giant whirlpool, I doubt they were fish," Katara said.

"Sokka," Aang said, leaning back against the wall of the saddle, "We know what we saw, there were people down there. This is important."

"I agree with Aang!" Buyou shouted out with a large smiled plastered onto his face.

"Yeah, me too!" shouted Usagi and Noboru.

Everyone laughed but then there was silence.

"So," Toph said, breaking the silence, "Where _are _we going?"

Aang looked away, thinking, "We could visit that beach with the walls around it, that would be fun." He smiled as he remembered the fun waterslide there.

Toph giggled slightly, "Yeah, and hopefully this time we won't almost get blown up by some crazy psychopath blow-upy guy." That caused everyone but Suki and the kids to laugh..

"What crazy psychopath blow-upy guy?" Buyou asked, his face starting to show worry or fear.

"What does psychopath mean?" Usagi asked Katara, climbing up onto her lap.

Katara began to think, "Ya know?…I'm not completely sure."

Aang looked down in thought with a confused expression on his face, "I don't know either…does it just mean crazy person or something?"

Toph raised her head and said, "I don't know,"

Suki shrugged her shoulders as everyone slightly laughed at how dumb they were.

Sokka formed a mischievous grin on his face, lightly tapping his fingers together in a sinister way, "Since none of us know what it means…" Everyone looked at him confused. "WE SHOULD GO ASK SOMEONE!" He started pointing off towards a nearby village.

**.**

**O.O**

**.**

They dropped down and jumped off of Appa immediately running towards the nearest person. It was a middle-aged man with a bag of rice slung over his shoulder.

Sokka ran up to him, asking him, "What is your name, sir?!"

The man looked at the group weirdly, but then responded, "Jon-hu?"

Sokka then continued, "Very well, Jon-hu, we have a question for you," he motioned towards the rest of the gaang, earning little waves from them to the man.

"Uh…okay? What's the question?" Jon-hu asked, trying to back away from Sokka.

"We," Sokka said, motioning once more to his friends, "want to know if _you _know what psychopath means." Sokka raised an eyebrow, eyeing the man closely.

"Um, I'm not really sure, is it crazy person or something?" Jon-hu guessed, getting a sigh from the rest of the group.

"That's what we thought, but we're pretty sure it's not that," Sokka sighed, "ONTO THE NEXT ONE!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone ran up to a group of people who looked young, probably late teens or early twenties. "Do any of you know what psychopath means?!" Katara and Aang asked them.

"No,"

"I'm not really sure,"

"Why?"

"Uh, uh,"

"Nope,"

"Doesn't that mean they're crazy?"

"I have know idea,"

**.**

**O.O**

**.**

With a sigh, Team Avatar ran off to another group of people, then to another and another and another, until they had talked to everyone in the village. No one knew what psychopath meant. They grabbed some lunch and were hanging out on Appa when suddenly a small girl, probably about 8 or 9 years old ran up to them.

"Aren't you the people who were trying to find out what psychopath meant?" She asked.

"Yep," Aang said.

"That's us," Sokka added.

"I know what it means," The little girl said, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"You do?" Katara asked, raising and eyebrow in wonder.

"Yep, a psychopath is a person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse," The girl said, still rocking back and forth on her feet.

The gaang's jaws all dropped at this little girl's vocabulary skills.

"How do you know that?" Aang asked, looking confused at the girl.

"Oh, I had it in a dream," The girl said, smiling.

"That's….cool, thank you," Aang replied, smiling, yet still confused.

"Yeah! Thank you…" Noboru piped up and said, smiling, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks," Everyone else replied from their seats on Appa.

"Your welcome, glad I could help," The girl giggled, skipping off to her family.

Noboru sighed when she was gone and Sokka walked up to him. The rest of the gaang went on doing random stuff. Aang and Katara went for a walk, Suki walked away to practice her fighting, and Buyou and Usagi somehow got wound up in a game of tag.

"What was that all about? You're usually all quiet." Sokka said, sitting next to Noboru.

"Umm, I just wanted to be nice…sayin thanks and all." Noboru muttered.

"Ohhhhh, I know what's goin on here!" Sokka yelled with joy as Noboru looked at him, scared, "You like that girl, don't you,"

"Well, yeah, sorta," Noboru muttered, looking down and playing with some dirt.

"Ah, young love," Sokka said, dreamily, but then going back into the real world, "So, what'cha like about her?"

"She's so pretty and smart!" Noboru shouted.

"I see," Sokka muttered to himself.

"Sokka," Noboru asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

Sokka beamed with joy, "Why sure ya can! What do you need to know?"

"How do you ask a girl out?" The seven-year old asked, a nervous expression on his face.

"Ooooh, I see, you wanna go out with her," Sokka said with a proud smile on his face, "Well, you've come to the right place!"

Noboru smiled.

"You need to act cool, be aloof," Sokka said, using hand motions.

"What's aloof mean?" Noboru asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

"When you talk to her, you need to act like you don't care about anything, one way or another," Sokka said, putting an arm around the seven-year old, "Girls dig guys who don't care about anything." Then he smiled, "I mean, think about Mai and Zuko, they don't care about anything."

"You're right," Noboru said, "They don't care about anything. I'm gonna go try it!"

"That's the spirit!" Sokka yelled, "Now go show that girl what your made of!"

"Okay!" Noboru shouted running in the direction of the town.

**.**

**O.O**

**.**

Aang and Katara had been walking towards the town, talking about random, unimportant things when suddenly Noboru came speeding down the path right in-between them.

Aang quickly jumped ahead and in front of the seven-year old just in time for him to crash into the airbender and fly backwards from the impact. Aang laughed despite the small pain in his stomach where the kid collided with him. He walked over to Noboru, who was still on the ground in a slight state of shock, and helped him up.

"What's the rush?" Aang laughed as Katara walked up beside him.

"I'm going to ask someone out!" Noboru stated proudly.

"Aww! Aang we should help!" Katara smiled happily.

"I don't need any help, I already got some advice!" Noboru said, turning around on his heels to head for town.

"From who?" Katara asked the child.

Noboru spun around saying, "Sokka,"

Aang and Katara quickly looked at each other and began to crack up. Noboru looked confused.

"What's so funny?" He asked, getting a small blush on his cheeks.

"**Never **take advice from Sokka, Noboru, it'll end badly," Aang laughed, putting a hand on the seven-year old's shoulder.

"What did he tell you to do?" Katara wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"He told me to be…a…a…aloof! Yeah, aloof!" Noboru stuttered.

Aang laughed aloud, getting weird glances from Katara and Noboru, "Been there. Done that. Didn't work."

"Huh?" Katara asked, her expression growing slightly angered, "Who was this girl you liked?"

Aang's pupils grew small, he blushed and muttered, "I liked you…"

Katara smiled, but then she got sarcastically mad, "What do you mean, _liked_?!"

Aang's eyes widened, he took a deep breath, and he was about to bring out a whole speech about how much he loves her and would do anything for her when suddenly Katara laughed, "I know, I know, I'm just kidding."

He let go of the air he was holding in his mouth and he smiled with relief, "Good."

Katara started to lean in and Aang followed, starting to kiss.

Noboru's eyes widened and he quickly spun around with a yelp and he started muttering, "Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew."

The couple laughed and said, "Just be yourself, I'm sure this girl will love you,"

Noboru smiled, "Okay," The kid ran off and Katara looked down with confusion.

"What's aloof mean?" She asked.

"Uhh," The airbender replied, "It means not caring one way or another."

"Ahh," Katara nodded, "If you do that, your love life will suffer dreadfully."

"Yeah, it probably would," Aang agreed. The couple turned around and decided it was time to head back for camp.

Noboru sped off towards the town, thinking only, "_Be yourself. Be yourself. Be yourself."_

**.**

**O.O**

**.**

The love-filled kid ran all the way to the town, not stopping once, to find the girl of his dreams. He searched for about ten minutes before he found her standing by her mother at a shop. He ran up and hid behind another building, peeking over at her. He immediately blushed and hid himself.

He saw a broken mirror in a trashcan nearby. He reached for it at steadied it so he could see his self in it. His hair was messy, his clothes were messy, and he was sweaty. How could he see a girl like this?! He quickly ran to a nearby stream and washed off his face. He washed the stains on his shirt as much as he could and brushed through his shaggy brown hair with his fingers.

He grabbed the mirror again to see what he looked like and he felt presentable so he walked out into the open with pride. The girl and her mother had been getting a late lunch and had just sat down to eat.

Noboru walked up to the girl and quietly cleared his throat. The girl heard and turned to him with a raised eyebrow. She immediately thought he was cute and smiled, "Hello there, what's your name?"

Noboru blushed and said after clearing his throat again, "Uh..Er…Hi, my name's Noboru,"

"Ooh, that's a cool name! What's it mean?" The girl asked with a bright smile on her face.

The boy's eyes widened and he said, "Uhmmm, I'm not really sure…"

"Well, that's okay." She said with another smile.

The girl's mom looked over at Noboru and then to her daughter with a smile, "Who's this? Is he a friend of yours?"

"I just met him! His name's Noboru, isn't that cool?" The girl squeaked.

The mom laughed, "Yes, that is a cool name."

"Can he eat with us, mommy?" The girl asked.

"If it's okay with his parents, where are your parents, Noboru?" The girl's mom asked.

"Oh, uhhh," Noboru muttered, "They…I live with my friends…my parents died…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know," The mother apologized.

"It's okay, it's been like that a few years," Noboru responded, sitting next to the girl.

"Are you hungry?" The mother asked, "I could get you something," She started to stand up..

"No thank you, I've already eaten," He said with a smile.

Sokka and Katara were walking down the street when they saw Noboru and the girl with her mom, they ran over and Katara said, "Hello,"

"Noboru, are these your friends?" The mom asked.

"Yep," Noboru said, smiling as the siblings sat next to him.

"We were just talking about you, Noboru," Katara said, "We came up with a fun idea, we're gonna go to this one lake we found in our travels and we're gonna have an 'End of the Summer' beach party!" She smiled, "And we were wondering if you wanted to invite her to it!" Katara whispered the last part in Noboru's ear.

"Ooh! Yeah!" Noboru said.

"A beach party? That's sounds fun!" The girl said.

"W-would you like to come?" Noboru asked.

"Yeah! Mommy can I go?!" She asked her mom.

"Well," The mom said, "We just met these people, I'm not really positive we can trust them yet."

"Aww, man!" The girl cried.

Noboru looked down, then he change the subject, talking to Katara, "Where's Aang?"

"Oh, he's back at camp resting," Katara said, "Why?"

"I was just wondering, you two are always together," He said.

"Wait, your friends with Avatar Aang?" The mother asked.

Noboru smiled and said, "Yep, I'm in his fan club!"

"Well, that changes everything. If you'd like to go, Ayumi, you can. As long as I make sure that they are really friends with Avatar Aang." The mom said with a smile.

"Yay!" Ayumi screamed.

Noboru quickly turned to Katara and Sokka with a large smile plastered on his face.

About ten minutes later, Aang rushed down to meet the mother. They worked it all out and it turned out that Ayumi's family and most of the town was for the Avatar and not the Fire Lord during the war.

About an hour later, Noboru and Ayumi were running back to Appa to go to the beach. Aang jumped onto Appa's head and helped Katara up. Toph jumped up on a pillar of earth. Sokka helped Suki up and Buyou and Usagi had a race to see who could get up Appa's tail first.

They were flying for about an hour before they reached the beach, once they got their, everyone started getting dressed to swim.

Once they were in their swimming suits, they jumped in.

"Come on, Katara! There's a really cool water slide down that tunnel! Please go down it with me!" Aang shouted, pointing over at the little tunnel.

"I don't know, Aang," Katara muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "It seems scary."

Aang stared at her dumbfounded. "You have fought in a war, seen two people get shot by lightning and been controlled by an evil old woman by your _blood_…and you think that a harmless waterslide…is scary…?"

Katara blushed with embarrassment, "You have a point there,"

"Then come on! It'll be fun!"

"But…I-,"

"Don't you trust me Katara? I'll protect you," Aang said with his goofy grin on his face.

Katara smiled and waded through the water over to him, Aang laughed and he grabbed her hand with a smile on his face and guided her over to the tunnel. Katara was still slightly scared, but she knew that Aang would protect her.

"Are you ready?!" Aang shouted, ready to jump into the tunnel.

"No?!" Katara shouted in reply.

Aang laughed and pulled her in front of him jumping into the fast-moving watery tunnel. Katara screamed with fear and fun at the same time. Aang wrapped his arms around her as she screamed with laughter down the tunnel.

It was loud, so Aang had to yell to talk to her, "I forgot to mention! There's a big drop off at the end of this so just hold on tight!"

Katara heard and began to freak out, "WHAT?!"

Aang just laughed and held onto her tighter with a smile on his face, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and he yelled, "Here it comes!"

Katara squealed with fear right before they were thrust out of the tunnel, and within a half-a-second, they were shooting out of it at high speeds.

Katara looked down with fear as she and Aang plummeted to the watery surface of the lake. Aang was having the time of his life as he and Katara spun and twirled in the late summer air. Right before they hit the water, Aang slowed them down to an okay falling pace and they both floated slowly to the water.

Aang laughed when they hit the water and Katara was still clinging to him.

"Are you really that scared, Katara?" Aang asked trying to turn her face to him.

"Y-yeah, a little," Katara said, loosening her grip on Aang.

"Here, hold on tight again, I'll take us back to the main lake," Aang said.

"Okay," Katara muttered, tightening her grip on Aang again.

He lifted her up out of the water and jumped up the wall of the lake place. He set her down on the edge of the pool and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she muttered, "I just need to calm down a bit,"

"Okay, I'm sorry I did that, I didn't think you'd be that scared," Aang said sitting down, facing her.

There was a small silence, but then Katara smirked and pushed Aang backwards into the water. He yelled as he fell in but then started laughing when he came back out of the water. He quickly thrust himself back into the water and Katara leaned over to see where he went. Aang was laughing as a jumped out of the water and grabbed Katara's shoulders, pulling her (flipping) into the lake. She immediately jumped out of the water for breath but smirked again, "So that's how you're gonna play, huh?"

Aang smiled his trade-mark goofy smile and then the couple was put into a fierce water war.

**.**

**O.O**

**.**

Meanwhile, Noboru and Ayumi were splashing around in the water nearby. They were playing along with Buyou and Usagi, who had made up a game in the water. Buyou closed his eyes and said "Avatar!"

Aang looked over with a raised eyebrow giving Katara the chance to knock him over with a giant wave of water.

Noboru, Ayumi, and Usagi giggled and said, "Aang!" The three immediately started rushing through the water to get away from Buyou who was following their voices.

"Avatar!"

"Aang!"

Buyou jumped through the water creating many large splashes, causing everyone to giggle.

"Avatar!"

"Aang!"

Buyou started following Ayumi's voice and he listened closely. He heard someone walking around behind him and he yelled in a loud voice, "Gotcha!", turning towards the figure behind him.

WHACK!

Buyou and the figure toppled over into the water, the 8-year old opened his eyes and saw the startled face of Sokka underneath him. '

Sokka's face filled with rage and he rolled out from under him, standing up and squeezing his hair to get the water out. He muttered incoherent words and stormed back over to Suki.

Buyou got up and smirked, he ran over to his friends and ended their game, whispering, "Guys, wanna annoy Sokka?"

The three younger kids all nodded their heads giggling.

They jumped out of the water and ran towards Buyou's tool belt. Buyou grabbed his spit dart shooter from it and one of his darts. He and the other kids ran behind a rock and peeped over. They looked over at Sokka who at the time was sitting next to Suki starting a conversation. Buyou smirked and placed the dart in the tube of the bamboo shooter and placed his lips on one end. He aimed and blew and the dart quickly began to shoot, spiraling towards Sokka.

Suddenly, Sokka's butt was in major pain. "YOOWWW!" He screamed as the pain-pincher dart sped onto his rear. The kids began cracking up with laughter and rolling around on their backs. Aang and Katara even tried holding back their giggles. Toph was also getting a kick out of all of this.

Sokka's face grew red and he started stomping towards the group of kids, rolling and screaming with laughter on the ground. Buyou noticed and he quickly jumped up shouting, "RUN!"

Immediately, all four kids ran at all different angles to get away from the fuming Sokka. Suki ran up to him and grabbed his arm, trying to calm him. Sokka took a deep breath, calming down temporarily. Suki and him walked into the water to avoid any more darts.

The kids grouped up again and Usagi piped up and said, "Can we do that again?"

Noboru smiled and said, "Yeah!"

Buyou smiled and picked out a temporarily paralyzing dart that would keep the person shot at paralyzed for about an hour. They were made from Shirshu saliva.

Buyou placed it in the shooter and blew towards Sokka's neck, which, besides his head, was the only part of him showing out of the water.

PRICK!

All Sokka had time to do was yelp before he plummeted down into the water, temporarily paralyzed. Suki gasped and pulled Sokka out of the water. Sokka gasped for breath but then started yelling at the kids.

Suki walked out of the water with Sokka and laid him down on the ground. Katara rushed over to Sokka and Aang followed. Suki went over to the kids and started giving them a lecture about how you shouldn't paralyze people and whatnot. Toph was still laughing but was now just kicking her feet in the water with Momo on her shoulder.

It was starting to get late so everyone packed up on Appa and got settled down. Aang and Katara in front. Sokka was sitting next to Suki, leaning against her as he continued to mumble about how much he disliked Buyou.

Buyou was snickering about it the whole way back to Ayumi's town.

Once they got there, Noboru grabbed ahold of Ayumi's hand and gently pulled her up and helped her down from Appa, even though even he needed help getting down. He smiled and said, "Thanks for coming,"

Ayumi was almost over to her mom when she said that, but she heard him and ran back up to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and giggling she ran back to her mom. Noboru's blushed and twiddled his thumbs together.

Noboru climbed back onto Appa and sighed, sitting down next to Sokka. "You seem happy," Sokka said, with a slight smile, he could move everything above his waist now.

"Yeah."

"Let me guess, she kissed you,"

"Yep," Noboru sighed again as Appa took off with a groan.

"On the cheek?"

"Uh-huh," Noboru said, still in a happy, love-filled daze.

"Yeah, that's how me and Suki first _really _fell in love," Sokka said, moving his now-movable arm around Suki.

"It wasn't much of a date though," Noboru muttered.

But then he smiled, "But totally worth it."

**.**

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_Sorry it was short…please forgive me all of this…_

_I will NEVER….EVER….MAKE ANYONE….WAIT 2 MONTHS….FOR A CHAPTER….AGAIN….I AM SOO….SOOOO….SOOOOOOO SORRY!_

_Pwease forgive me! (puppy dog face)_


	7. Chapter 6: The Ball: Part 1

Author's Note_**: **__Sorry! It's a long chapter, it took a while…_

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 6:

_The Ball_

_Part 1_

_***_

The gaang headed back to Ba Sing Se. They had nothing to do so they decided to relax for a while. Of course, Ba Sing Se wasn't exactly what they thought of when they thought of the word 'vacation'. With all of it's rules and regulations, the gaang could hardly stand it. Thankfully, the Earth King was back in charge now that Long Feng was imprisoned, so it would at least be better than before. It took a few days to get back to Ba Sing Se, but it was well worth it for a cup of Iroh's famous Jasmine Tea.

"Ahhh," Sokka sighed as he took another drink from his tea, "That is gooood," Everyone laughed but continued on with their conversations. He smiled as Suki and him started a game of Pai Sho. Noboru and Buyou began to watch the couple play, trying to figure out how to play the complex game.

In the kitchen, Aang had taken Katara in to show her how the monks made fruit pies. In the end they had made about five pies, all different flavors: strawberry, raspberry, cherry, chocolate, and banana. Soon enough, Katara knew how to prepare the pies herself, though she would always need help from Aang to get the topping to whip up.

Toph was outside with Usagi, teaching her new earthbending moves. She attempted teach the small girl how to feel vibrations, but she couldn't catch on, so Toph just taught her some basics.

Iroh walked up to the open doorway of The Jasmine Dragon, sweeping out some dirt from the floor. The sun was setting so Iroh called everyone out to the main area to tell them something.

"Soon I have to leave to serve tea to some elderly folks who are paralyzed, I'm going to have to close now, but return whenever you would like some tea," Iroh said with his kind, warming smile.

"Okay then, thank you, Iroh." Katara said with a smile on her face. Her and everyone else walked outside to begin walking to their house in the city. Appa was already inside a newly built stable behind their house, so they just decided to walk.

They made it to their house and walked inside, closing the door behind them.

Sokka walked in stretching and with a yawn he said, "I am tired, g'night everyone," Everyone replied to him saying 'Good Night,' and everyone spread out across the house. Toph laid down on one of the beanbags in the main room and just lounged there, soon to fall asleep. The kids began playing tag but Katara told them they were being too loud so they began playing cards.

Soon enough, the three kids were fast asleep, spread across the floor. Suki went to bed so it was just Katara and Aang. Katara smiled and yawned, walking over to Usagi, motioning for Aang to follow her. One by one, the kids were tucked into bed. Finally, Katara walked up to Aang and kissed his cheek.

"Good night,"

"Sleep tight," He replied with a smile.

And they went to their beds for a good night's sleep.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**Fire Nation Capitol- early evening (Happening while the stuff above was happening)**

Zuko was yet again found, strangled within the grasp of the numerous peace meetings. He sighed and spoke, "Well, I think that for every family that has lost a member, we should give them 500 gold pieces,"

"Are you mad?! That would cost a fortune!" General Sui argued.

"Think about how many families in the world have been hurt by this war, giving each family only 500 gold pieces is being _cheap!_" Zuko shouted.

Mai walked in with a smirk on her face, "I thought these were peace meetings, not debate meetings."

Zuko half-smiled and pulled out a seat for Mai to sit on, she did and the peace meeting began to continue.

About a half an hour later, two guards ran up panting, "Sir! There's an animal washed up on the beach!"

Zuko stared blankly at them, "Is it dead?"

"Yes, it appears to be, Fire Lord."

Zuko's stare became even more blank, "And you need to tell me this…why?"

"We've never seen a thing like it! It's a horse, and it has the wings of a dragon!" The guards stated.

"So…a dragon-horse?" Zuko asked, loosing his blank expression.

"Yes, sir, we would like it if you would come and check it out…" The guards asked, their faces stern.

"Very well, then," Zuko said, standing up from his seat, "Let's go see it,"

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

The next day, Toph and Usagi were training outside of their house.

"Okay, now the object of this move, is to make a mound of earth form out of the ground, then you can move it around. If you get really experienced, you can ride it." Toph said with a smirk, doing the move, "Like this,"

Usagi watched with amazement as the blind girl jumped on top of the mound and moved around with it. She clapped when Toph jumped off and landed in front of her.

"Now you try it," Toph said proudly, waving her hand to where she just preformed the move.

Usagi jumped up from her seat on the ground and walked over to the area her teacher instructed for her to go. "Okay," She muttered, moving her hands the way Toph did.

Surprisingly, the mound of earth popped out of the ground, spinning around rapidly as if it was a top. Usagi giggled when she saw it and tried to play around with it. The mound moved around fast and Usagi was very proud of herself. Soon enough, the girl lost control of the mound and it smashed right into the side of the house, leaving a gaping hole there.

They heard and yelp and ran over to the small cloud of dust that formed, Katara and Aang were standing there, shocked. Aang shook out of it and put his hand on his forehead, "Something tells me that their not gonna fix it for free this time."

Usagi laughed innocently and walked away slowly to the side.

Toph's eyes widened and she quickly yelled, "I had _nothing _to do with it!"

Katara and Aang looked at the blind girl as she ran off, then they turned to each other and laughed.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Later on, some construction earth benders were setting up some supports for the busted down wall of the house. Aang repeatedly apologized but the earthbenders just chuckled. Aang finally gave up at apologizing and sat next to Katara who was reading a book she found on rare animals. Aang looked over her shoulder and saw what looked to be a horse with the wings of a dragon.

"Oooh, what's that one?" Aang said with awe, pointing to the cool-looking creature.

Katara looked at the caption below it and began reading, "**Dragon Horse: **An extinct creature that could soar through the mountains of the Air Nomads and gallop through the plains of the Earth Kingdom. The marvelous creature had a 14 foot wingspan and was the fastest flying mammal on the Earth."

Aang slightly frowned, "No, Flying Bison's are the fastest flying creatures on Earth."

"Well, they did say they were extinct, Flying Bison are _now _the fastest mammals on Earth," Katara stated.

"Well, once Appa dies…there won't be any more…" Aang said, sorrowfully.

Katara looked down, but then said, "I'm sure we can find Appa a girlfriend of some sort before he dies Aang,"

"What about Momo?" Aang asked.

"Momo was slightly young when we found him, right? There are probably still some at the temple, we'll just have to search." Katara said with a smile.

"You're right, Momo probably had a family. We can find them and the lemors will be saved!" Aang said happily, throwing his arms up into the air.

Katara smiled, but then she heard a knock at the door and said, "I'll get it,"

Aang turned around and jumped over to Momo, saying, "Did you hear that buddy? You're gonna be the start of all the lemors for the rest of time!" He laughed.

The lemor purred with excitement and jumped onto Aang, toppling him over as the airbender laughed with joy.

Katara giggled on the inside at her boyfriend's naiveness. She walked up to the door and opened it up to see who knocked. It was a messenger dressed in light and dark green robes, more formal looking then the ones they had seen before.

The messenger bowed respectively to Katara and held out and opened a scroll, as he said, "You and your friends have been formally invited to the Four Nations Ball, in honor of the end of the war and the peace shared between the nations. You will all be honored guests there."

Katara smiled, politely taking the scroll from the man's hands, "A ball, huh?" She looked it over, "Sounds great, we'll be there,"

The messenger smiled and bowed once more, "Thank you, I will tell the Earth King that you will be attending,"

"Thank you," Katara said, walking into the house and shutting the door behind her. She looked around and saw that the earthbenders who were fixing the house were done putting up the supports and tarps.

Everybody was lounging around while Katara walked into the middle of them, "Guess what, guys."

"What", everyone responded.

"We've been invited to The Four Nations Ball," Katara said with a big smile, glancing towards Aang. Aang noticed and smiled back, blushing.

"Sweet," Sokka said, "I'll finally be able to dance with you," He wrapped his arms around Suki and kissed her cheek.

"I'll go, maybe I can get The Duke to come," Toph blushed.

Katara noticed, knowing that she liked The Duke.

"I thought it was just Duke," Suki said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's _The _Duke," Sokka corrected.

"Well, it's in two days, so Suki, we have some preparing to do," Katara said, smirking.

Suki, noticing the smirk, realized that it was time for some hardcore shopping, she jumped up and walked over to the door, Katara following. "This will be fun," The waterbender said.

"Can I come? I don't like having to sit around all day," Aang said, walking up to the two.

"Sure," Katara said, grabbing his hand, she turned to Sokka, "Are you gonna come?"

"Nah, I like being lazy," Sokka said, smiling, lying back onto a pillow.

Katara gave him a slightly annoyed look .

The three kids piped up, yelling, "We wanna go! We wanna go!"

Suki, Katara, and Aang's eyes widened as they saw the excited kids. They sighed. "Okay, you guys can come,"

"Yay!" The kids cheered running out of the door as Katara and Suki did.

Aang followed, smiling, thinking about the Four Nations Ball. Katara was the only image filling his mind as he stared in a daze at her figure. Katara soon noticed and turned around, seeing Aang stare at her lovingly. She blushed and smiled as she waved her hand in front of his face, trying to snap him out of it.

Aang jolted when he finally broke out of his daze, "Huh, what?"

Katara giggled and said plainly, "You were staring at me again,"

"Again?" Aang asked, blushing.

"Aang, come on, you stare at me every day," Katara smiled.

Aang's eyes widened and he just then began to realize how much he stared at her. "O-oh, heh heh, sorry…"

Katara laughed, "It's ok,"

They continued walking until Aang noticed something behind a corner, "Wait here, guys, I wanna go check something out,"

Katara raised an eyebrow in wonder but then shrugged it off and stood still as the three kids continued their game of tag. Suki sat down and waited.

Aang ran around the corner and noticed the local tailor shop and he walked in. He looked at the dresses section of the store and spotted an elegant white dress with small diamonds in it and blue sash around the middle. He closed his eyes and pictured it on Katara. He sighed.

He looked up and grabbed hold of the price tag, he gasped and his mouth had dropped open when he saw the price.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

He ran back to everyone, slightly saddened, but he shrugged it off, knowing that anything Katara wore would look beautiful on her.

The kids were still playing their game of tag when they noticed some of their orphanage friends playing out in front of the orphanage with a ball. Everyone followed, knowing that they needed to keep watch over the kids.

Buyou began telling the orphans about his recent adventures and he told them how he was traveling with Avatar Aang. The kids practically screamed when they heard Aang's name. They all quickly turned to look over at Aang and they all cheered, running over to their hero. The orphans jumped up and down as Aang finally realized how big his fan club was. Every kid in the orphanage was cheering for him, causing nearby people to stare, laughing.

Buyou jumped up and yelled, "DOG PILE!"

Aang gasped and fell backwards as the ton of kids jumped on top of him, Katara and Suki laughed at the pile of kids on top of Aang but then proceeded to carefully take them all off of the airbender.

After all of the children were plucked off of Aang, the poor Avatar lay, still in shock, on the ground. The mass of children continued jumping for joy at the sight of him as Katara tried to help him up. Katara smiled with laughter and pulled her boyfriend up, slightly shaking him to wake him up from shock. He slightly jolted when he awoke, but then laughed at the humor of it all. He jumped up using airbending and pulled up Katara, who was on her knees.

After lots of autograph signings for the kids, the gaang finally went shopping at another tailor in that section of the city. Katara was about to buy a light blue dress but then decided against it. She then proceeded to buy some make-up at a nearby store with Suki.

Right before they headed back, Suki ran back to the tailor and quickly purchased a green dress with a yellow scarf and sash. Afterwards, she, Katara, Aang, and the kids went back home.

When they got there, they saw Sokka, laying on one of the bean bags asleep. He was snoring loudly so Suki walked up and lightly kicked him, telling him to wake up. Toph was still lounging, daydreaming about The Duke and dancing with him.

Noboru and Buyou ran up to Sokka, who was just now fully waking up. He yawned and saw the two little boys standing in front of him. "You're a warrior, right Sokka?" Buyou asked him.

"Yep, best one in my tribe," Sokka said, taking this as an opportunity to brag.

"Ooh, sweet," Noboru squeaked.

"Could you teach us how to be awesome warriors?!" Buyou piped up and said, punching and kicking at the air, "We want to be warriors when we grow up."

"Well, sure, I guess I can teach you some stuff, but trust me, we'll need Suki's help," Sokka said, smirking.

"What?! A girl?…But their so icky…" Buyou muttered, disgusted.

"Girls are awesome, Buyou, give them a chance," Noboru said, lovingly, thinking about his "girlfriend" from the one Fire Nation town.

"Yeah, you're only saying that 'cause you have a girlfriend," Buyou sneered.

"I am not!" Noboru yelled.

"Are too!" Buyou yelled in response.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Nuh-uhh!"

"Yes-huh!"

Sokka sighed as the two boys proceeded to tackle each other to the ground, rolling around and trying to rip each other's hair out. He stood up and stretched, but then he kneeled down next to the kids and pried them apart. "You're never going to become good warrior if you pick fights that easily."

Noboru and Buyou suddenly got worried that they wouldn't become good warriors and stood up straight, one hand to their heads, each in a salute stance. "Sorry, sir," They said in sync.

_Sir. I like that, _Sokka thought, smirking.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang was watching the two "soldiers" from a distance and he almost laughed. But then he remembered the dress. He suddenly got an idea and said, "Hey, I'm going to head back into town, there was something I saw there that I want."

"Okay, I'll come with you," Katara said, smiling, standing up from her seat on a bean bag.

Aang got worried, he couldn't let her see her surprise. "No, I….I want to go alone, no one can come,"

He said it in his nice voice, but Katara still looked slightly upset, but then sat down again, "Okay…"

Aang was sad about making Katara upset, but he couldn't let her know he was going to buy the dress. Katara lifted her head, asking, "Do you need money?"

"Uh…yeah," Aang said, realizing he had no money on him.

She took a bag of money from a sack behind her seat, she stood up and walked over to him, handing him the bag. "It's 100 gold pieces, will that be enough?"

"Uhh, yeah," Aang muttered, knowing that wouldn't be even near enough for the dress. He wasn't going to ask for more though, that would make her suspicious.

"When do you think you'll be back?" Katara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, umm, within an hour most likely." Aang smiled and said.

"Oh, okay." Katara said, smiling. Aang kissed her cheek and said 'bye' taking off for the one tailor shop.

When he got there he walked up to the dress and once again looked at the price tag.

1000 Gold Pieces

He sighed once more and looked at his bag of 100 gold pieces.

_How am I ever going to afford this…_ Aang thought, looking down at the ground. He didn't notice the woman walking towards him though.

"I saw you looking at this earlier, is it for a friend?" The woman asked politely.

Aang jumped slightly when he heard the voice, but then looked up to reply, "Yeah," He smiled, "But I don't have enough, so never mind," He held up his bag of 100 gold pieces.

Aang was about to walk away before the woman said, "You're the avatar, right?"

Aang turned around and said, "Yeah," with a smile.

"Well-," The lady began, but Aang interrupted.

"Please don't say I get it free because I'm the Avatar, I'd rather I earn the things I get." Aang explained.

"Oh, very well then," The woman said, "But I do have a favor to ask of you,"

Aang lifted his head, that he didn't even know had dropped, "Yeah, sure, what is it," He smiled.

"Come here, young man, let me tell you something." The woman walked Aang up to her counter and told Aang, "My daughter…The man she loved, or thought she loved, recently broke up with her. She has been a wreck ever since, but she has grown a liking for you,"

Aang, slightly unsure about the fact that he is being liked by a girl he has never even met, asked, "Where are you going with this?"

"I will give you the dress for free, only if you do this favor for me,"

"Okaaayy? But what's the favor?" Aang asked, growing a little annoyed of the conversation.

"Will you go on a date with my daughter?" The woman asked with a large smile.

Aang's eyes opened wide. He was already in a relationship, with the girl of his dreams, he couldn't even risk the chance of ruining that. He was about to explain that to her when-

"There won't have to be any kissing or hugging, I swear, just take her to a restaurant and maybe somewhere romantic, just let her have a good time," The woman said, obviously knowing that Aang was uneasy, "I know you have a girlfriend, so I wouldn't make you have to break up," The woman slightly laughed.

Aang looked down in thought. If he took the girl out to a restaurant and maybe the fountain he saw once in the city, he could get the dress and Katara would love it so much he'd get hundreds of kisses from her. Aang smiled at that. Though if he didn't take the girl out, Katara would find a cheap dress, and still look beautiful. It was a win/win situation, but he preferred Katara looking like a goddess, still going out with her, and getting hundreds of kisses on top of that, better.

"I'll do it," Aang smiled, "I'd do almost anything to get that dress for my girlfriend,"

"Oh, splendid, I'll let her know," The woman said, smiling, walking to a door that most likely went to the house part of the building.

Aang waited out in the empty tailor's shop for a few minutes before hearing a scream of joy and then the pitter-patter of running feet. The door was rapidly opened and out came a girl probably Katara's age or slightly older. The girl ran into Aang and gave him a gigantic hug. Aang stared in shock at the girl as she tried to regain her composure.

"Okay, you two, have a good time," The woman smiled and said.

"Okay, mother," The girl said, trying to keep in her excitement as Aang slipped his arm around her arm in hopes of making sure that he would get the dress for Katara.

They walked along in silence to the nearest fancy restaurant; Lotus Petal was the name of the place. It was probably the most fancy restaurant in that section of Ba Sing Se. It had diamond chandeliers and gold colored walls and ceilings. Aang made a note in his head to later bring Katara to the place.

He and the girl walked up to the counter were an extremely fancy-looking man stood. The man instantly recognized Aang as the Avatar and took them to a secluded balcony.

The two teens sat down and shared an awkward moment of silence, they discussed what they each wanted so that Aang could order for them all romantic-like but then fell back into silence.

But then Aang broke the silence by saying, "So what's your name?"

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself, my name's Chiyemi, and I already know yours, Avatar Aang." Chiyemi sighed, looking lovingly at Aang.

"Uhmm, yeah. Nice to meet you, Chiyemi," Aang said, awkwardly.

He had to admit that Chiyemi was a beautiful girl. She was skinny and she had flawless, pale skin. She had bright green eyes and long black hair pulled into a ponytail. Aang shook the thoughts out of his head. Katara was the _only _girl he would ever love, and she is the most beautiful, striking woman he would ever meet.

"It's nice to officially meet you too, Avatar Aang," Chiyemi sighed, blushing as she looked into Aang's eyes.

Aang, feeling overly awkwardafied with the situation, excused himself from the table and walked into the actual restaurant. He sighed. After taking a few moments to breathe, he walked back onto the balcony where the waiter was, ready to take their order. Aang sat down and looked at the menu really quickly and ordered rice and beans as the appetizer, Teriyaki Turtle Chicken and noodles for Chiyemi, and Veggies with rice noodles for him.

Aang and Chiyemi had small conversations when the food got there but then the real conversation started when she asked, "What's it like to die?"

Aang nearly choked on the piece of broccoli he had been chewing. He slowly swallowed and regained his composure, saying, "Umm, it's uhh, painful…but also not painful,"

"Didn't you get hit by lightning? I'm sure that hurt." Chiyemi asked.

"Uh, yeah…It hurt," Aang muttered, stirring around his veggies with his chopsticks.

The earth kingdom teen dwindled her thumbs together as she asked, "Do you have a scar?"

Aang looked nervously to the side, "Yeah"

"Wait…how are you still alive? I mean, I know your all fancy with your spiritual energy, but you're still human, right? How did you survive?" She asked, wide-eyed.

"Oh, uh, my friend, Katara, she had water from the spirit oasis in the North Pole, which has special properties in it. She used it to heal me and I-I just lived…" Aang shrugged, taking a bite out of another vegetable.

Chiyemi frowned when she heard about Katara.

Afterwards, Aang and Chiyemi had many of those small awkward conversations, but then Aang paid and he and her left.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Katara continued lounging in the living area of their house. At first she was watching the "warriors" learn from Sokka and Suki, but then she fell back in her chair with a sigh.

_Where is he…_she thought, sighing, turning her head to face the window. She got up and walked over to it, looking out, hoping to see Aang walking up. But he wasn't…

She sighed once more, turning to Sokka, "Sokka?"

"Yep?" Sokka answered from across the room, he was in the middle of showing the kids a battle stance but he got out of it to answer Katara's question.

"Do you think it's been an hour since Aang left? I'm starting to get worried." She asked, her face showing concern.

Sokka gave Katara a weird look, "Katara, I really need to teach you how to tell time, it's been about two hours."

Katara's eyes widened with fear, but then closed. She needed to find him or she'd go crazy. "I'm gonna go look for him, he should be back by now,"

Sokka's face also showed concern, "Okay, don't get lost though, and don't talk to strangers,"

Katara gave him an annoyed look, "I won't,"

She turned around and went for the door, opening it and walking onto the street.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Mai and Zuko walked down with the guards the see what the "Dragon Horse" was. They got to the beach were they saw the pure white horse laying dead. Zuko walked over to it and picked up a piece of driftwood. He poked it with a stick and said, "Hmmm."

Mai raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing, Zuko?"

"I have no idea,"

"Okay, then, that works" Mai smiled.

"Lift one of the wings up for me, please," Zuko asked the guards, the men ran up and lifted up the seven foot long wing and spread it out.

"Wow, long wingspan," Zuko said, "Have it stuffed so we can see what it looked like alive."

"Yes, Fire Lord," The guards said, blowing a whistle to signal some of the other guards. Five other guards came to help lift the strange creature off the ground.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang and Chiyemi walked down a street. It was dark out and Aang noticed that Chiyemi was walking _very _close to him. They made it to an unlit fountain and Aang frowned. He'd never get the dress if he didn't make this girl happy.

"What are we doing here, it's just a stupid fountain, it's not even lit," Chiyemi sneered, giving a slight glare to Aang.

Aang held out his hands slightly and said, "Wait…," Then he looked down an the ground with a smile, "Stand back,"

Chiyemi cocked an eyebrow at him and asked, "Why?"

"Just do it," Aang said with a smile.

Chiyemi sighed and took three steps backward. She looked over at the airbender with a confused look and crossed her hands over her chest, "Well? I'm waiting. What are you doing?"

_This girl is starting to get on my nerves, _Aang thought, sighing. He took a few deep breaths and quickly looked up, taking a fast stance and shooting fire at the multiple candles. He moved quickly, turning in various directions to hit every candle.

One by one, the candles lit and Chiyemi looked at the fountain with wonder and awe. Her mouth stood agape with a smile and she ran up to Aang giving him a hug.

Aang sighed once more, thinking, _That woman lied, she said no hugging…_

After looking at the fountain for a few awkward minutes, Aang said, "It's getting late, I really should be getting you home now." Chiyemi sighed, obviously saddened, but she started walking forward awfully slowly.

Aang's eyes widened as he realized he needed to be back over an hour ago. He quickly grabbed the girl's hand slightly pulling her, "I'm sorry but I am really late, I really need to go, please hurry,"

Chiyemi got slightly angry, "If you want that dress, we're gonna go as fast as I want to go, alright? Now…walk slower and tell me how pretty I am." She smirked.

Aang bit his lip in frustration, and he struggled to say, "You're…very…pretty, Chiyemi…"

Chiyemi smirked and said, "That wasn't so bad now was it?" She patted Aang's head and she could've sworn she saw his arrow glow. She jerked back and said, "Hey, don't get all glowy on me, you know you love me just as much as I love you,"

Aang shook with anger, he wanted so bad to yell at her, but he bit it back, saying, "I have a girlfriend you know…"

"Yeah, but she can't hardly be as pretty as me," Chiyemi said, smirking, taking a pose to show herself off.

Aang continued shaking but he grabbed her hand and started walking, Katara being the best thing on his mind.

After walking for what seemed like hours to Aang but was only about thirty minutes, the two made it back to the tailor's shop. Aang had calmed down, but still was mad about Chiyemi calling herself prettier than Katara. Katara was a goddess to him, and nothing or no one could ever change that.

"I had a good time except for the part where you got all glowy," Chiyemi said, wiggling her fingers around when she said 'glowy'.

"Yeah…Sorry about that," Aang said, he truly wasn't sorry, she had no right to say that about Katara. Katara was ten times as beautiful as Chiyemi was so she wasn't one to talk.

Chiyemi smirked while she was turning to enter her house, she quickly spun around towards Aang and her lips crashed onto his.

.

.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

.

.

Katara had ran around that section of Ba Sing Se a few times already with no luck finding Aang. She was freaked out, constantly worrying that something had happened to him. She slowed down to a walk, realizing how tired she was. She looked around and went down a dimly lit road. She was pretty sure she hadn't noticed it before, maybe Aang was down there.

She slowly walked in, starting to be creeped out by the dim lighting. She looked down the road and slowly but surely she spotted Aang's figure and she smiled, starting to jog over.

When he fully came into view he was about thirty feet away from her, she saw him leaned up against a support for the building. Thinking that it was an awkward way to stand, flat up against the support, she walked up a bit.

She just began to see a girl in front of him when she realized that they were kissing…

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Katara's eyes widened and her mouth stood agape at the scene being played before her. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she thought, _He's kissing her…and not pulling away…_

"Aang," she whispered in a weak, offended, and betrayed tone. She saw him say something to the girl, as if he was angry, but she couldn't think about anything at the moment. She noticed that he was looking over at her with fear, and she started to slowly walk backwards, shaking her head in disbelief. Aang was only able to shout 'Katara!' once before she was gone, running away…

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

**About a minute before…**

Chiyemi smirked while she was turning to enter her house, she quickly spun around towards Aang and her lips crashed onto his.

Aang's eyes opened wide as he was pushed against the nearby support for the house, this startled him and he grabbed her shoulders trying to escape.

He didn't bend at her because he didn't want to hurt her, even if he did, that would mean he wouldn't get the dress. If he didn't kiss back…he wouldn't get the dress. That thought slowly came into his mind. He was at a loss. He pushed her with all of his might while in the shock of being kissed. This was one strong girl.

Chiyemi pulled about an inch back and said, "I bet your stupid Water Tribe peasant girlfriend can't kiss like that, huh, Mr. Avatar,"

Aang broke out of his shock, on full anger mode, "**WHAT DID YOU CALL KATARA?!**" He yelled at her.

"A peasant, I'm richer than her, I'm better than her, we should go out, not you and that filthy girl," Chiyemi said, noticing that Katara was about 25 feet away, "Oh there she is now," She sneered.

Aang's eyes widened and he quickly turned to see Katara slowly stepping back, shaking her head. His mouth opened to speak and he shouted, "Katara!"

Katara closed her eyes tightly, as if to keep from crying and she bit her lip as she spun around and began running away.

"Katara come back!" Aang shouted, he knew that she had seen them kiss, the betrayal was in her eyes.

Aang quickly turned back to Chiyemi, "Do you see what you've done!?" Aang shouted at her.

"You don't need her, I'm who you really want," Chiyemi sneered, smirking with pride.

"No, all I want is Katara! I don't need your stupid dress!" Aang yelled, and with that he started sprinting off to wherever Katara ran too. He ran all around the area looking for her but decided she went home, so he sprinted off in that direction.

When he made it to the house, he burst in through the front door asking, "Have any of you seen Katara?"

Toph said, "Nope, Sugar Queen left awhile ago to look for you,"

Aang sighed and ran to the only other place he thought she might go this late at night.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

He ran to the Jasmine Dragon in hopes of finding her, he walked up to the back door that was usually locked and found it to be unlocked. Either there was a burglar or it was Katara. Aang just hoped it was Katara. He quietly opened the unlocked door and tip-toed inside. He heard crying and he knew those sad sobs were coming from Katara. He saw a light coming from her former room and he softly knocked at the door.

He heard her give a light yelp, and she started to stutter, "Wh-who's t-there?"

Aang – knowing that she would probably lock the door if she knew it was him – slightly opened the door, just enough to stick his head inside, saying "It's me,"

Katara's scared look turned into one of hatred.

Aang walked in, explaining, "You have to understand Katara," he said, looking at her tear-stained eyes, "I love you…Not her,"

Katara sighed it anger, "Yeah, well that _really_ explains why you were sucking on that girl's face!" She yelled.

"I wasn't –I,"

"But you were kissing her! Not pulling away!" Katara yelled, then she looked away, as if she couldn't stand to look at him again, "You said you didn't want anyone to come with you! Not even me! That proves it!"

Aang shakily sighed with fear, "There's…There's a reason I couldn't let you come! And not for the reasons you think!"

"Sure…" Katara said, still not believing him.

There came another knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Katara asked again, less scared this time.

"It's Sokka," The voice on the other side said.

"Okay, you can come in…" Katara breathed, trying to regain her composure.

Sokka walked in and asked, "Is everything alright? Toph told me she felt you guys come here."

"I'm fine…" Katara said, standing up, glaring at Aang and walking out of the door to go home. Aang sighed and Sokka told him to come back home.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Mai and Zuko were sitting by the turtle-duck pond, lounging around, feeding the ducks bread. This was a normal thing they did each day. It was calming to them.

The Dragon-Horse was still being stuffed, so nothing really important was happening.

"I'm glad we finally get some alone time," Mai said, leaning her head on Zuko's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's nice," Zuko said, looking down at Mai with a smile, a few seconds later though, he looked away in thought.

Mai noticed and sat up, "What's wrong, you seem troubled,"

"It's nothing…It's just no one has been able to find my mother yet…and I'm just getting worried that she's…you know…," Zuko muttered.

"It'll be fine, Zuko, they'll find your mother," Mai said with a smile.

Zuko smiled back and they leaned in to kiss when---

"Um…Fire Lord Zuko?" A messenger ran over, saying.

Zuko gave the messenger a glare of annoyance.

"Umm," The timid messenger said, "Y-you have a visitor…"

Zuko grew angry, "Who thinks they can just come over uninvited and interrupt me?!"

"It's…You're mother, sir,"

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang had taken a walk around the town, to clear his thoughts and calm down. He breathed deeply and walked. Walking and walking, never stopping. He walked for about an hour before he came home. He walked in solemnly and he looked up, expecting to see Katara glaring at him.

But she wasn't there.

He looked around and saw Suki and Sokka laying on a couch, "Where's Katara?" He asked in a timid voice.

"I'm not really sure, I think she's in her bedroom," Suki said, pointing to the hallway.

"Oh…Thank you," Aang said, walking towards the hallway. He got to Katara's room and knocked on the door, "Katara?…"

No answer.

"Katara?"

No answer.

"Katara…I need to talk to you, please open up,"

No answer.

Aang slowly grabbed for the doorknob and opened it up; he looked inside the room and saw no one inside. He looked over at the window and saw it open. He walked over to Katara's small balcony and looked around. He saw the ivy that had grown on the walls and noticed that some of it had broken off.

Katara was up there, and he knew it.

Aang climbed up and indeed Katara was up there, but she was shivering. Aang – realizing how cold it was – said, "Do you want me to hug you, it would keep you warm…" He immediately regretted the words after saying them.

Katara turned and glared at him, saying, "Why are you up here, can't you see I'm trying to stay away from you?"

Aang sighed and said, "You have to believe me, Katara, you are the only girl I could ever love, even if I tried. You are like a goddess to me, Katara."

"Aang, don't even try to suck up to me, because it's not working."

Aang's eyebrows slightly tightened with annoyance, "I'm not trying to suck up to you, it's the truth…"

"Yeah, right, you said the same thing about loving me," Katara sneered, "You said it was the truth, obviously not."

Aang sighed, giving up at convincing her, she'd probably be nicer in the morning. He wasn't really sure how he felt about her sleeping on the roof, but he shrugged it off, knowing she wouldn't let him carry her down.

He climbed down the ivy in defeat and went to his bed.

A few hours later he woke up and sat up. He put his arms around his bare torso (He doesn't sleep with a shirt on) and shivered, rubbing them up and down to be warm. That's when he remembered Katara. Surely she had gotten down by then, but then again, he had to make sure. He grabbed his blanket from his room (That he doesn't use) and jumped out onto his balcony, then onto the roof.

Sure enough, there was Katara. Shivering with her arms around her like a scared wet puppy. Aang placed the blanket over her and smiled as her shivering began to die down. He was about to jump back down when he saw a storm coming in the distance. He looked over at Katara –who was now warm – and decided to get her off the roof whether she yelled at him or not.

He picked her up and carried her to her room.

When he set her down, there was a knock at the door, and then there were footsteps heard, sounding like they were running away. Aang opened the door and looked down. Seeing a box.

He smiled and picked it up, realizing what it was.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Katara woke up in the morning in her bed, not on the cold tile of the roof. She was warm, and happy. But then the previous day's events came back to her and she grew angry again. Aang walked into her room and slightly smiled.

Katara glared at him, making him very uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat, but then said, "I-I wanna show you something…"

Katara continued glaring at him, but then reluctantly followed him to his room, where he led her. Right before entering the room, Aang asked Katara to closed her eyes. So with an extremely disappointed glare, Katara closed her eyes and walked into Aang's room.

Before letting her open her eyes, Aang says, "This is why I was kissing that girl, Katara, it was for you…" He uncovered her eyes for her and she looked up, seeing---

.

.

.

.

The dress…

**.**

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**.**

=D

_(Part 2 coming soon, sorry it took so long)_


	8. Chapter 7: The Ball: Part 2

_Okay, I can't explain to you how sorry I am. I know I start out almost every chapter with a note saying sorry, but still. I finally got my laptop back, but only 2 weeks ago. Since then, I've been working my butt off to finish this. And I made it double the size of a normal chapter for u guys. So yeah, here it is._

_Hope you like it!!!! _

_Oh, and by the way, I put in a few nice little Maiko parts in here for KimJuni2 and other maiko fans! Hope you guys like them, exspecially since it isn't my strong side =)_

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 7:

_The Ball_

_Part 2_

_***_

Katara looked up and saw the dress Aang had gotten for her. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly, she admired it, but then turned to Aang. He had a slight smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with concern. Katara closed her mouth and quickly turned back to the dress. After staring at it a few more seconds, Katara turned to Aang quickly and opened her mouth to speak.

"You were at that one tailor's shop…" Katara muttered, "Who…who was that girl?"

"It was the tailor's daughter…" Aang sighed, his head tilted down to the floor and he closed his eyes, "She had a crush on me…so the tailor said I could have the dress if I went on a date with her…" Katara looked up slightly at him, a bit of betrayal in her eyes.

"Please understand that I didn't want to go out with her…You're the only girl I will ever love…" Katara smiled as he continued, "But I wanted to make you so happy, giving you this beautiful dress…so….I said yes…"

The waterbender frowned, looking down once more, waiting for the boy to continue explaining. "The tailor said that there wouldn't have to be any hugging or kissing, so I thought it would be fine…Unfortunately, she did hug and…kiss me,"

Aang looked up, into her eyes, she looked up and met his, "I can't even imagine what you were thinking when you saw her…you know…" Aang's eyebrows tilted up in concern, "She kissed me…I didn't kiss her…"

The boy was about to go on and on with explaining, but Katara walked up slowly and shushed him with a finger to his lips. He immediately stopped talking and looked from the finger on his lips to the girl in front of him. She smiled and replaced her finger with her lips. The two closed their eyes and enjoyed the quick kiss.

Katara pulled away, only a few inches, and said, "I know…And I'm sorry for getting so mad…" She wrapped her arms around the airbender's neck and squeezed. Aang sighed and wrapped his arms around her as well. Then the girl added, "I love it, by the way,"

Aang chuckled and the two continued hugging.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"M-my mother?!" Zuko asked the messenger, standing up abruptly. Mai stood up too, looking in shock at Zuko and the messenger.

The messenger's eyes were wide as well, he bowed and said, "Yes, sir, she would like to see you," Zuko, eyes still wide, followed the messenger to the nearest parlor where he said she was. Mai followed shortly behind them, wanting to see if it truly was Zuko's mother. They entered the room and the messenger bowed, proceeding to exit the room. Zuko looked at the cloaked woman in the center of the room.

The woman turned around to face him, but her face was hidden by the hood of her cloak. "Zuko?" The woman asked, taking a slight step to Zuko. She grasped the sides of her hood and pulled it back, revealing her face.

Zuko's eyes opened wider than they were, and his mouth stood agape.

It was her.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Sokka was lounging on the couch when suddenly Aang and Katara came out of the room holding hands. He grinned and said, "I see you too have made up,"

Katara and Aang blushed and said, "Yeah…", they turned, smiling to one another.

Suki was sitting on the couch next to Sokka, laying her head on his shoulder. She 'awed' and stood up.

Katara asked her if she wanted to see the dress Aang got her and she said yes, following the waterbender into Aang's room to see it. Aang walked over to a comfy chair and fell back into it with a sigh. "I thought she was gonna hate me forever!"

Sokka waved it off, "She could never _really _hate you, she's always like, 'He's so loveable!'" He did the air quotes and mimicked her with a chuckle. Suddenly the two heard Aang's door open and the girls came out. Suki walked up to Sokka with a smile, but then she got an annoyed glare on her face, "Why don't you get me anything like that?"

Sokka's eyes widened, "Umm…I…You already had a dress, I was _going _to get you one…But I love the one you picked out for the ball so I decided not too," He lied, talking fast. Katara and Aang gave Sokka an annoyed glare as well when Sokka lied.

Suki seemed to believe him, but still wasn't pleased. Sure she was faking how annoyed she was, but she would have liked it if he had got her something expensive. She continued looking at the nervous warrior and he came up with an idea, "Uhm…How 'bout I take you somewhere really fancy for dinner…and then take you somewhere romantic afterwards???"

Suki seemed pleased, so she sat down next to her boyfriend and kissed his cheek, "That works for me," She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder once more. Sokka wiped the tiny bit of sweat that formed on his head off and quietly sighed. Katara and Aang giggled but then went to go play some Pai-sho.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Toph and Usagi were outside training, they were only practicing the basics of earthbending that Usagi had yet to master. She copied Toph's actions and tried her best. Toph was very pleased with the six-year old.

"Ok, how 'bout we try that one move again, where you balance on the spinning mound of earth. Only this time, _don't _run it into the house." Toph said, remembering how they busted the wall again.

Usagi looked slightly scared, "You want me to balance on it?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, isn't it? It's not that hard, just jump forward and push the earth down where you land. After that, thrust your hands up and run with it. Like this." Toph did the move and ran around in a circle on her mound.

"O-ok. I'll try it." Usagi jumped forward and made the earth go down, she thrust forward and the mound proceeded to spin, "I did it!" She yelled as she stood on top of the spinning mound.

Toph laughed, "Good job, now try moving with it,"

"Okay!" Usagi piped up and said, starting to attempt running with her mound. She took one running step and fell down, the spinning earth spiraling her off of it. She landed on the ground with a _thud _and she said "ow".

Toph sighed, "It's okay…You just need to find your balance," She held her hand out for the small child. The kid took her hand and pulled herself up, wiping a little dirt off of her dress.

"Hey, Toph!" The two heard, they quickly spun in the direction of the voices who shouted. Toph immediately realized who they were once she felt their vibrations.

"Hey, The Duke! Hey, Pipsqueak!" Toph yelled back, waving, blushing when she said The Duke's name. They ran up to the girls with smiles on their faces.

Toph quickly tucked some loose hair behind her ear in hopes of making herself prettier for The Duke. "So, what're you guys doing here?" She asked, a smile on her face.

"Pipsqueak got a job so he could pay for an apartment, we've been living there for about a week," The Duke said, elbowing Pipsqueak's leg.

Usagi walked up to Pipsqueak and looked up at the massive boy, "I'm not even as tall as your leg!"

Pipsqueak laughed his deep laugh and bent down to look at the girl, he turned to Toph and asked, "So…Who's this?"

"Oh," Toph said, "This is Usagi, she's one of the three orphans we found and have added to our little 'group'" She used the air quotes.

"Well, that was nice of you," The Duke responded, a smile on his face.

A blush tinted the blind girl's cheeks, "Thanks,"

The Duke smiled once more and asked, "So, is this you're house?"

Toph smiled, and said, "Yeah, it's our Ba Sing Se home. I don't know when we're leaving, all I know is that we're not leavin' till the ball tomorrow is over." She said that, trying to let The Duke know about the ball.

"Oh, that sucks," The Duke said, "Well, I guess we can just hang out till the ball,"

Toph felt sad, it sounded to her like they didn't want to go to the ball. After that, they hung out for awhile, playing pranks on the higher class people.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Buyou and Noboru were walking around the perimeter of the house. Bored. They played tag and catch, but then they came upon the stable. They both grinned mischievously and looked at eachother, both clearly thinking the same thought.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Buyou asked his friend.

"Oh, yeah," Norboru said, in a 'cool' voice.

They quickly ran inside the stable, seeing the ten-ton flying bison sleeping in the corner. They ran on top of the creature and made themselves comfortable on his head. Buyou grabbed the reins and said, "It can't be that hard," He smiled and pulled back, yelling, "YIP YIP!"

Appa groaned and stood up, running out of the stable, and jumping out into the air. The boys yelled loudly in fear and joy, laughing as they went higher and higher.

"See, told you it wouldn't be hard," Buyou bragged, Appa grunted at him and they laughed, heading towards the orphanage. They landed Appa next to it, and people stopped and stared at the large beast. The orphans were playing outside, engaged in a game of kick ball. The boys ran towards them and asked,

"Do you guys wanna ride on Appa?!"

They're response was cheers of joy and happiness. About eight kids at a time went onto the bison, taking ten-minute rides around the city. Soon enough, the forty-two orphans were all taken care of, talking about the air.

Noboru ran up to Buyou and said, "We should charge people to get rides on Appa! Then we could get money and give it to all of our friends. They could buy toys and food and stuffs!"

Buyou smiled, "That's a great idea! Let's do it!"

And so they went, riding from section to section of the city, giving rides to all of the children who could pay. Raising the money for the orphans.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

It was her.

"Mom…" Zuko muttered, slowly walking to her, slightly in a shock of happiness. Ursa raised her arms for a much deserved hug and Zuko obliged, running into the woman's arms like a small child.

Mai knew that this wasn't the Zuko that ruled over the Fire Nation, but the Zuko that was motherless since a boy. She walked up to her boyfriend and put her hand on his shoulder, he slightly turned to her, not stopping the embrace, and Mai smiled, walking away. She wanted to give them some space, knowing that they had to catch up on things.

"How are you…how did you….where did you go?" The teenager asked, a huge smile on his face.

Ursa smiled a smile that only mothers are capable of, she put her hand on his shoulder and said, "When I was banished, I was sent to live in the Earth Kingdom. I lived in a small village near the city of Omashu and stayed there ever since. It was never overrun by the Fire Nation because it is hidden inside a dense forest so it has been very peaceful for awhile…" The woman looked up at her son's face.

"I heard of what your father did to you," She reached up and felt the damaged skin of his face, "My poor baby…"

Zuko frowned and also reached up to feel his cheek and eye, he sighed, "It's okay though…It doesn't hurt,"

"Still…I can't believe he did that…He used to be so kind…" Ursa sighed, looking away and pulling back her hand.

Zuko slightly chuckled, at the thought of his father being "kind".

He wrapped his right arm around his mother's shoulders and said, "How about we go and get some lunch,"

Ursa smiled, "And you'll tell me about your travels as well?" They walked out of the room and she spied Mai walking down to her room in the palace. She smirked. "And you get to tell me about your girlfriend."

Zuko slightly blushed, but then shook it off with a smile.

His mother was finally home.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

After playing pai-sho for about an hour, Katara had beaten Aang for the 15th time in a row.

Katara laughed as she set up for another game, "Are you letting me win? Or am I seriously better than you."

Aang laughed as well, "I don't know! I always beat Monk Gyatso when we played, except for when I didn't catch him cheating. You have mad skills at Pai-Sho."

It was dark out now and Aang looked out the window with a smile. In exactly a day, he would get to be dancing with Katara as she spun around in her beautiful dress. He sighed and pictured it.

Katara noticed that he was once again starring off into space lovingly, "Thinking about me again?"

Aang shook out of his thoughts, "Huh? What?"

Katara smiled and laughed, "Nevermind," She reached her arm out towards him and flicked his forehead, "You're so hopeless,"

She stood up, ignoring her set up game, and walked to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Aang smiled and got up from his seat on the floor and followed her into the kitchen, watching her prepare the food.

Later on, they had their supper of vegetables and noodles and they were all gathered in their main sitting area, candle light being the only light in the room. Iroh had come over and was playing soothing songs on his Tsungi horn. The others smiled and scooted closer to hear better.

Aang and Katara were laying back on a pair of bean bags and were both dozing off to the beautiful music. Soon, the couple had fallen asleep in each other's arms, smiles on their faces. Sokka looked over at them and scowled, thinking that it was completely inappropriate for them to be sleeping next to each other. But then he looked down, seeing Suki and his self in the same position, almost falling asleep in each other's arms.

He sighed and leaned back some more, listening until Iroh decided to go home. He went home and Sokka carried Suki to her room, laying her down in her bed, and tucking her in. He smiled and ran back to Aang and Katara, tapping their shoulders and saying, "Wake up, guys, and go to bed,"

They groaned and half-asleep, they got up and went to their rooms. They plopped down on their beds and once again fell asleep. The kids noticed that Aang and Katara had gotten up so they also went to bed. Usagi followed Katara and asked if she could sleep with her. She tiredly smiled and said 'Okay'.

Sokka didn't want to disturb Toph, knowing that he would probably get his butt kicked if he did. So he, also, went to bed.

And soon the house was quiet.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

In the morning, Sokka woke up to the smell of chicken-pig bacon cooking. He sighed and thought, _Ahh, Katara's cooking. _Katara had always been the cook of their little group. She always would wake up early so that they'd have their breakfast. Her part in the group was to be the motherly figure, and over their travels, she became accustomed to it.

The warrior yawned and stretched, slowly getting up and out of his bed and rubbing his eyes, walking to the smell. He spotted Katara and Usagi filling up a crème filled pastry. Katara was obviously teaching the girl how to cook them. Then Katara turned and spotted Sokka.

"Wow, you're up early today," She said with a smile, she walked over to him, handing him a plate full of egg foo yung (It's a Chinese omelet) and chicken-pig bacon, just as he had smelled.

Sokka looked down and saw the magnificence before him, "Did something special happen Katara? Usually, you only make rice and bacon, now you're going all crazy with the eggs and whatnot. I like it, but what's so good about today?"

Katara smiled, handing him some tea, "I'm just in a really good mood today, I mean, the ball is later, and I'm really looking forward to that. Also, I had a really great sleep last night. So, today I just feel like treating everyone." She smiled once more and returned to Usagi to finish up filling the pastries.

Sokka sat down on the floor next to the pai-sho table and smelled in the glorious smells of his meal. He took his chopsticks and took the first bite out of his omelet. He immediately tasted his seal jerky in it and he closed his eyes to savor it.

Aang walked in, still in his bed clothes, and saw the warrior laying back on the floor. He gave him a weird look but then proceeded to the kitchen to see Usagi and Katara finishing with their pastries. Katara saw Aang and ran up to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek and showing him the pastries.

He smiled and walked over to see the pastries, he choose one that had strawberries and crème in it and he grinned. "You're the best cook in the world, Katara, you know that?"

Katara smiled, "Thanks,"

Aang smiled as well, hugging his girlfriend and proceeding to the living area with the bliss-filled warrior. Soon, everyone had woken up and were eating in there, having small conversations, mostly about the ball.

A little bit later, Noboru and Buyou stood up for their announcement.

"Yesterday, me and Noboru stole Appa to go to Ms. Hanaokitoki's orphanage," Buyou stated, he was given a weird look by Aang when he said they stole Appa. They continued, "We went out and gave random people rides to raise money for our friends there and we raised a lot!"

Suki smiled, "That's good, weird, but good. How much did you raise?"

Noboru smiled and yelled, "206 gold pieces, 20 silver pieces, and 13 copper pieces!"

The gaang's mouths all dropped open wide. That was a lot of money for just one day. "We had a bunch of people who wanted to ride Appa, so we charged them money and they paid it! It was so cool! Our friends are going to be so happy!"

Aang smiled, mouth still agape, "You bet they are, what are you going to buy them?"

Noboru replied, "We were thinking clothes, blankets, and toys. Maybe even getting rid of the horrible mush that we get for our meals. At least rice would be better." He smiled.

"Well, we should buy those things later, and get them to the kids as soon as we can," Katara said, smiling, she wanted to help anyone and everyone who needed help recovering after the war.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

The day went on as normal, except now, everyone was preparing for the ball. The girls spent most of the day in their rooms, trying out new makeup combinations and other girly stuff like that. Sokka and Aang went out to look for cologne, they wanted to smell nice for their dates. Toph sat alone in her room most of the time, soon Katara came in, a concerned look on her face. She sat next to Toph and asked, "Whats wrong?"

Toph lifted her head up, but then said, "The Duke isn't going to the ball, and I don't wanna sound stupid by asking him to. He'd just laugh at me…"

"What?" Katara asked, laughing slightly, "The Duke really likes you. I can tell! Remember during the invasion? He let you use his helmet as a puke bucket! You hugged at Zuko's coronation, and yesterday, you guys were running around annoying people together. The puke part may be gross, but it shows that he cares about you. He obviously likes you because you've hugged. And you basically went on a date yesterday,"

"Well, I guess we do a lot of stuff together now…but he'd still laugh at me," Toph sighed, she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

Katara sighed as well, then she put her arm around Toph shoulders and said, "I'll tell you what, how 'bout me and Aang go on a 'mission' to find out if The Duke likes you or not? I'm done experimenting with my make-up and my dress is ready whenever, so we could do that," Katara smiled widely.

Toph frowned, but then tilted her head up in wonder. "Do you really think you might be able to find that out?"

Katara smiled, "Sure, and we'll make it real low-key, so he doesn't suspect anything." Toph smiled also, happy that she might find out if her crush likes her as well.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"So, how do you feel about Toph?" Katara and Aang asked, right in The Duke's face.

The Duke backed off a few feet but then said, "Uhm, she's nice…and she's my friend,"

"I see…that's nice," Katara said, walking off, Aang following. About twenty minutes later, they ran back and asked, "If Toph and Pipsqueak were falling off a cliff, who would you save?"

"Well, Toph could bend herself up, right?"

"Umm…No, in this story…uh, her chi is blocked!" Aang added quickly. Katara smiled widely, laughing.

"Umm…well, Pipsqueak's strong enough to pull himself up, so I guess Toph," The Duke said, still confused. He backed away slowly, but when the couple began following he ran, trying to ditch them.

The two of them continued pestering the small boy for a few hours, each time ending up with The Duke running away.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

"Are you sure you guys made it low key? He's been avoiding me all day," The blind girl said, downcast.

"Yeah, it was real low key, he didn't expect a thing," The two smiled, walking off, clearly proud of themselves. A few minutes later, The Duke walked into Toph's room and said, "Knock, knock," smiling.

Toph immediately blushed and said, "O-oh, hi, The Duke,"

The Duke walked in, looking slightly annoyed with the fact that Aang and Katara were bugging him for the past few hours. Though he still had a smile on his face because he got to see his friend, "Hi, Toph,"

"So…" Toph mumbled, putting her hand behind her head, blushing, "Did you need anything?"

The Duke just laughed, "No, I was just wonderin' why Aang and Katara have been pestering me," He stuck his hands into the pockets of his pants and smiled.

"Oh…uh," Toph said, blushing madly, "I told them to keep it low-key," She whispered the last part to herself, turning to the left, an annoyed frown on her face.

The Duke raised an eyebrow, asking, "What was that?"

"Oh nothing!" Toph quickly said, a little too quickly. The Duke smiled, and sat down next to Toph on her bed.

Toph's face was bright red, like a tomato_ (Missy, you know what I'm talking about, lol_). She twidled her thumbs some while he talked, "I heard you, you said that you told them to keep it low-key. Is there something you want to tell me?" He laughed at the last part, trying to make sure the conversation wasn't that serious.

Toph turned away and said, "Well…you know…about that ball…right?"

The Duke raised his eyebrow again and said, "Yeah, you were talking about it earlier."

"Well…I uhm…I sorta was wondering if…uhm, if you'd wanna go with me…" Toph said, mumbling the last part, biting her lip. She could feel The Duke's stare at her and it made her uncomfortable.

After a few awkward moments, The Duke said, with a smile, "I'd love to" She could hear the smile in his voice as he said that.

Toph's eyes opened wide when she heard him, "What?" She asked, turning to him, a wide smile forming on her lips.

"I said that I'd love to, I'd love to go to the ball with you," The Duke repeated, smiling, "Is that what you wanted to ask me from the start?"

"Uhm," The girl muttered, "Sorta…"

"Then you should've asked me sooner!" The Duke smiled, "Then you would've saved me the trouble of Aang and Katara pestering me all day," He wrapped his arm around Toph as he said this, making the girl's blush, which had started to leave, reappear ten-fold.

Toph tilted her head up to look at him with a smile, "Sorry, I didn't know that you would have said yes,"

"It's okay," The Duke laughed, he gave Toph a slight squeeze with his arm and then laid it once more in his lap.

Toph sat up straighter than before, and asked, "Though, if you don't mind me asking, do you really _like _me or did you only say yes because I asked?"

The Duke straightened his back as well and said, "Well…yeah, I've sorta been…getting a…crush on you lately." He took her hand in his and smiled, with a small nervous chuckle. Toph smiled, "Well that's good, because I've been getting a crush on you lately also,"

The two smiled and began to talk, both anxious for the ball.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

After a few hours of talking, Zuko and Ursa had finally caught up on things and were having small talks about what they were doing this week. Zuko had told his mother about his banishment and his search for Aang. He also told her about his adventures in the Earth Kingdom, and when he joined Aang's group. Finally, he wrapped it up by telling her how they ended the war when Aang took Ozai's bending away.

Ursa listened carefully, never interupting, loving the conversation that she was having with her son. "Okay, now tell me about Mai, how is your relationship going?" She asked, a smile on her face.

Zuko chuckled, taking a sip of his tea, "Well, she's great, and I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend," Ursa smiled, slightly laughing.

"That's great, I'm so glad you found someone you love." His mother said, also taking a sip of her tea. "When did you start going out?"

Zuko smiled, saying, "Once my honor had been…well, 'restored', we just sort of started dating. I liked her and she liked me, it just happened."

Ursa smiled once more, right as Mai entered the room, Zuko laughed and said, "And there she is now,"

"You guys were talking about me?" Mai asked, laughing.

"Yeah," Zuko chuckled, "She was asking me about how we started going out," Mai laughed and stood behind Zuko, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a small embrace. She rested her head on his and rested her eyes, "Yeah, I love this guy,"

The small group laughed and went to out to the pond in the inner courtyard.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

After breakfast, Suki and Sokka had gotten ready to leave to buy things for the orphans. The three kids and them took off on Appa and went to the marketplace. The first thing they got were new clothes for the children. They didn't use much of the money for the clothes, but they were definitely better than what they had before. The clothes were basically made up of a tunic, pants, and boots for the guys, and an informal dress with pants and sandals for the girls.

After they were done, they had spent six of their gold pieces, nine of the siver pieces, and all of their copper pieces. They brought the clothes to the children at the orphanage and screams of laughter and joy were heard throughout that entire part of the city. The children loved their soft, clean clothes and were eager to play around in them. They continued playing a sport that they had made up while Buyou, Noboru, Usagi, Suki, and Sokka went out to buy the rest of the kids' stuff.

They bought tops and whistles, puzzles and dice, a pai-sho table, and many more toys for the kids. They brought them all onto Appa's saddle and lugged them back to the orphanage. The kids were now telling made up stories about Uni-bears and Pegasus-Jaquars.

When the kids were given their toys, they went crazy with joy and excitement, playing with the bells and whistles. The gaang helped them set up their pai-sho table. Ms. Haniakitoki didn't seem to mind them buying all of this stuff. As long as she didn't have to worry about the kids contantly coming to her, complaining that there was nothing to do, she was fine. The last thing that they had to buy was better food for the children. So they went to the marketplace to the cheapest selling food business. They bought several dozens of bags of rice and bags of meat. They bought the food and gave it to Ms. Haniakitoki and asked her to use it instead of the mush. She reluctantly accepted, but did and the group felt satisfied. They had helped the children of the orphanage and still had money to spare.

The money that they had left over, they divided among the children as an allowance and soon they were out of money.

Clearly satisfied with what they did, the kids with Suki and Sokka went home to prepare for the ball, only hours away.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

While Suki, Sokka and them were out shopping, Aang and Katara were left alone in the house. Katara grabbed her journal and went outside, stretching. She smiled and sat under the shade of an oak tree by the pond. She felt at peace so she laid up against the tree and began writing in her journal. Aang had followed her outside, not intending on acting creeperish, but somehow managing to.

He climbed into the tree she was leaning against and watched her. He looked down at her, a calm, loving smile on his lips. He watched as she wrote something into her journal and sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. In the shade, he had to admit that she looked even more beautiful than usual.

Suddenly, he heard her start mumbling, but soon he realised that she was singing, but quietly. He couldn't make out what she was saying so he leaned forward. His foot slipped on a slippery part of the branch, and he fell forward with a yelp, landing on the ground next to Katara. She let out a high-pitched squeak when she saw him and she jumped back a few feet, dropping her journal.

The page was left open and Aang spotted what was written.

_Journal 55_

_Happy Birthday to me, I'm finally fifteen. Aft---_

His eyes widened as Katara scrammbled to get her journal. Once she had it back in her arms, held tight against her, Aang looked up at her and slightly shouted, "It's your birthday???"

Katara shrugged, "Well…yeah, it is…but it's not really that important,"

"Not important?" Aang asked, in shock, but with a concerned smile on his face, "Katara, this is the the day that you were born! If it weren't for this day fifteen years ago, you wouldn't be here, and I would probably still be in an iceberg and the war would still be going on…and….well, I wouldn't have ever been able to find love,"

Katara blushed and Aang smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips quickly, before pulling back. Katara leaned towards him and kissed him quickly on the lips as well, before she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist.

They kissed for a minute before pulling back, gasping for breath. Aang blushed at the position they were in, Aang had been laid back against a large root of the tree, and Katara was laying slightly on top of him. Katara blushed as well, and then the both of them laughed before continuing to make out.

After about five minutes, they were done kissing and Katara was laying next to him watching the turtle ducks on the pond, Aang wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her back. She sighed and continued watching the ducks. After a few minutes, Aang offered to get up and make her some lunch.

"Do you want me to make you a birthday lunch? I know a lot of good recipes," Aang said with a smile. Katara lifted her head from his shoulder and murmured, "Sure, that would be nice, but please don't let anyone else know when they get home? I mean, sure it hurt my feelings that they didn't even remember it, but still, I don't want it to be big. Just our little secret?"

Aang wanted to protest, thinking that they should make a big party for her with her favorite snacks and games and whatnot, but he knew she would be happier if he didn't tell anyone, so he decided against it. They got up and headed for the kitchen of their house.

Aang prepared rice, noodles, vegetables, bisquits, and two fruit pies, and Katara made some turtle-chicken for herself. They had a fun time cooking it and eating it, and by the time they were done, there was only an hour left until Sokka and them would be back.

They spent the rest of their time kissing and talking, and just spending time together. That was all Katara wanted for her birthday, the day spent with Aang.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Toph and The Duke had gone out with Pipsqueak to go mess with the guards around the city. Playing pranks on people was their specialty. Every once in awhile, while they weren't running away from annoyed guards, The Duke would hug Toph and they would have a 'moment'.

Thankfully for them, Pipsqueak didn't notice. They had a good time running around, when suddenly Toph realized that she didn't have a dress for the ball that night. The ball was three hours away and she had nothing! She suddenly got nervous, she stopped their running and told the two that she had to go.

Toph ran up to The Duke and whispered in his ear with a smile, "See you at the ball,"

She spun around on her heels and took off for home, to find the only person she knew that could help her with this situation.

Katara.

When she reached their house, she saw Sokka, Suki, and the kids walking in from their shopping spree. She burst through the door, a little too dramatically, and ran into Katara's room. She burst in and immediately stopped, a confused, wierded out look on her face as she saw Aang and Katara cuddling and kissing.

She shook it off and said, "You two have really got to stop doing that, we can't walk into a room without seeing you too makin' out in it,"

The couple's faces turned bright red and they both muttered, "Sorry,"

Katara scooted off of the bed and brushed herself off, she walked up to Toph and asked, "So uhh, what do you need?"

Toph pulled Katara out of the room, earning a weird look from Aang, and into her room. She closed the door and said, "I sorta don't have a dress for the ball…and, uhm, me and The Duke are going out now,"

Katara slightly squealed, "I'm so happy for you! I knew you two would go out!...Okay, now about the dress, have you checked you're closet? I found that my closet was filled with all sorts of dresses and stuff, maybe your's has some." She smiled, walking over to the girl's closet and opening it. She walked in and about a minute later she came out, arms filled with dresses Toph's size. Toph couldn't tell how any of them looked, but for the next hour, she was trying them on.

In the end, they went with a dark green dress with a yellow belt. On top of it was a yellow jacket. Toph smiled, even though she couldn't see if she looked pretty or not. She felt pretty and laughed, twirling around. Katara laughed as well, "It's nice to see you happy with being girly for once."

"Yeah, it's like that one time we went to that spa," Toph laughed.

Katara smiled, "Speaking of that spa, time to do something with your hair,"

The girls laughed and Katara proceeded doing her hair. She went into her room and grabbed all of her hair products. As she was leaving, she noticed that Aang was asleep on her bed, arms crossed over his chest. She dropped her stuff on the bed and climbed on, crawling over to Aang. She grinned and kissed Aang, she pulled back and saw him smile. She laughed and crawled off the bed, gathering her stuff in her arms and going back to Toph.

When Katara was done with Toph's hair, she pulled back and marvelled at her work.

"How do I look?" The blind girl asked, feeling her hair.

"You look great," Katara said, a smile on her face, "The Duke is going to think you're the prettiest person in the world." Toph blushed and smiled as well.

Katara looked down at her work again and smiled. Toph's hair went straight down her back and her bangs were tied into two braids. The girl tucked a stand of her black hair behind her ear and smiled. "Thank you, Katara,"

The waterbender smiled, and said, "You're welcome,"

There was one hour left until the ball and Katara still had to get ready, so she left to go back to her room. She saw everyone in the living room and spotted Suki, she ran over and said that she should start getting ready. So Suki got up and headed towards her room to change and do her hair. Katara smiled and went to her own room to get ready. She walked in a closed the door, turning to her bed. Still, the monk was asleep on her bed and she laughed.

She once again crawled onto the bed and kissed his cheek. Aang smiled and murmured in his sleep, "Mmmmm…K..tara…"

Katara laughed and shook his shoulders to wake him up, he mumbled some more, "No…Gy..tso…Five more minutes…"

Katara shook him harder this time and his eyes fluddered open, "Huh? Mmm, what?" Aang mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"You fell asleep, now you need to go so I can get ready," Katara grinned, kissing the boy's cheek again.

"Oh…sorry, okay," He yawned and got up, exiting her room, still rubbing his eyes. Katara smiled and walked to her closet where she had her dress, she opened it up. She felt the soft silk of the gown and smile, mentally appreciating everything that Aang does for her. She smiled and took it off of the hanger it was on. She undressed and slipped it over her head and down her body. She stuck her arms through through the long, skin-tight, and see-through sleeves and walked over to her mirror. She looked in it and smiled, twirling around in it, laughing. She turned towards the direction of the living room and smiled, whispering, "Thank you, Aang,"

Katara finished up with her hair, pulling the top half into a braid down the back of her neck and shoulders. The rest of her long, brown hair was cascading down her back in soft chocolate colored waves. She sat down on her bed and sighed, thinking about the events that were soon going to happen.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

After being awoken by Katara, Aang walked into his room. He walked up to his mirror and grabbed his shaver off of his desk. He put his shaving cream all over his scalp and shaved it off, making sure that no hair remained. He grinned as he felt how smooth his head was. He quickly changed into a formal orange tunic with yellow sleeves that were loose at the end. He tied the yellow belt tightly around his waist and straightened out his shirt. He slipped on his yellow, knee-length pants and brown boots.

He smiled and grabbed a flower from a vase in the room. It was white like her dress and he felt like it would make her look even more like a goddess. He grinned once more and laid back on his bed, also thinking about what would happen at the ball.

He got up and walked into the living room, blushing, thinking about Katara kissing him. He sat down and started talking with Sokka and the other guys. Soon The Duke came in to join us. He got a formal brown tunic and spent most of the day cleaning his shoes. He sat down and smiled waiting for the girls to finish getting ready.

Pipsqueak was babysitting the kids for them while they were going to go to the ball. So there were no small children in the house.

"So," Aang said, breaking the awkward silence of waiting, "Where are you taking Suki tonight, Sokka. You said you were taking her out somewhere."

Sokka laid back, "Turns out that they are having a dinner at the ball, I'm just going to go on a walk or something with her afterwards, what are you doing with Katara?"

Aang smiled and answered, "I'm going to take her out for dessert afterwards, then we're going to go and I'm going to take her riding on my glider. Then we're just going to take a walk also." Then he heard a knock coming from the hallway. He raised an eyebrow and ran over to Katara's door, where the knock came from.

"Uhh, you knocked?" Aang smiled, still confused.

"Yeah, we're all ready, are you guys ready to go?" The muffled voice of Katara said. Aang could hear the smile in her voice.

He grinned, he was completely ready to see Katara in the dress. He turned to the rest of the guys and asked, "They're ready, are you guys?"

He heard them respond, "Yep!"

He laughed and responded to Katara, "Yeah, we're all ready,"

"Kay, were coming out," She said. Aang's heart rate changed jurastically as he heard the door creak open, revealing the three dressed up girls. Suki came out first in her green dress with the yellow sash and belt. She smiled at Aang and walked towards Sokka, who smiled and stood up.

"Ready?" Sokka asked her, wrapping his arm around hers with a smile.

Suki blushed and said, "Yep, lets go,"

They exited as Toph walked out of Katara's room. She was blushing and Aang slightly laughed but still smiled at her because he had to admit that she looked very pretty. Toph smiled but then punched Aang's arm and he winced. He rubbed the sore spot in his arm, but looked over at Toph and The Duke as they took eachother's hands and exited the house.

Aang's heart was thumping hard against his chest as he saw Katara walk out. She walked out, blushing, but a largely happy smile on her lips. Aang's mouth stood agape and his eyes were open wide. He was smiling but he couldn't close his mouth.

"I take it I look pretty," The blushing girl smiled, walking up to Aang. Aang only nodded but then shook out of his frozen stage and blurted, "Not pretty! Beautiful! Amazing! Katara, you look like a goddess!"

Katara laughed with slight embarrassment and smile, walking up to the boy and hugging him, "Thanks," She whispered in his ear and he tightened the embrace. Aang blushed and pulled back.

"Uh…Uhmm. Could…Could I kiss you?" Aang asked, a nervous blush on his cheeks.

Katara giggled, "Since when have I said no?" She once again wrapped her arms around him and they began to kiss lovingly. After about thirty seconds, they stopped, knowing that they had to get to the ball before Sokka started "wondering" where they were.

Aang grabbed Katara's hand gently and smiled at her, "Let's go,"

The couple smiled and walked out of the house, leaving the house empty since Iroh was babysitting the kids for them. They went down the street, and towards the Earth King's palace, where the party was being held. After a while of walking, they made it there. Aang looked over at Katara as they stood in line to get in. Chills were sent down his spine as he gazed at her slender body. He shook slightly to get rid of his awkward thoughts and Katara noticed.

"Are you cold, Aang?" She looked concerned, but she had a caring smile on her face.

Aang didn't want to tell her what was "really" going through his mind, so he just smiled lightly and said, "Alittle bit,"

Katara grinned, "Well, maybe this will warm you up," She embraced him tightly and Aang did have to say that it did make him warmer. Their hug was interupted when an Earth Kingdom guard walked up to them, a smile on his face. He tapped Aang on the shoulder and they quickly pulled away from eachother, nervous.

The guard laughed and said, "Avatar Aang, you and your friends are honored guests. So you and your girlfriend don't have to wait in line."

"Oh," Katara smiled, "Okay," She and Aang followed the man into the main dining room where some people were already sitting down. They followed the man to the end of the large table and sat down. The Earth King was sitting on a throne-like chair. He smiled and greeted the two. Soon, the rest of the guests had arrived and they began the feast.

They ate the nice dinner and had small conversations with eachother.

Once Aang was done eating he put his hand under the table and grasped Katara's hand. She blushed and smiled, turning to the airbender. He quickly gave her a kiss on her cheek and she laughed.

"What was that for?" She asked, still laughing.

"I just love you," Aang said, also laughing.

Katara smiled, "Well, I love you too," She squeezed Aang's hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek too. They both laughed and waited for the dismissal to go dance.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Toph and The Duke followed after Sokka and Suki. The eventually caught up with them and saw them now clutching hands lovingly. The Duke looked down at his hand that was wrapped around Toph's. He followed up her arm to her face and saw her smiling. He loved it when she smiled. He loved her.

He squeezed her hand and smiled, Toph turned to him and smiled as well. The Duke looked at the teens in front of them and waited for them to turn the corner. Once they were out of sight, the boy turned back to Toph and said, "Umm, would it be okay if I tried something?"

Toph laughed, "It depends on what 'something' is,"

The Duke blushed, "Well…could you close your eyes?"

"The Duke…I'm blind, I can't see anyways,"

"Well, It would just make me feel better," The Duke responded, looking at his feet.

Toph sighed with a smile and closed her eyes, The Duke leaned forward slightly, his breathe hiking up in the process. He leaned closer and saw Toph smile.

She could feel the vibrations in the ground, she knew very well what he was doing so she leaned forward also. Soon enough, their lips met in a warm kiss. They held it for about ten seconds and finally pulled back. Both of their eyes were open wide.

"Wow…" The Duke said, smiling.

"Yeah…wow," Toph laughed, awkwardly.

They continued on their way, never stopping thinking about what had just happened.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

When the group got back to the inner courtyard, they began to feed the turtle ducks. After about ten minutes of laughing at the cute little ducks chasing after the bread, Ursa said she wanted to rest from her long journey here. Zuko slightly frowned, but then got over it, knowing that she must be tired. So he smiled and hugged her, asking a guard to escort her to her room.

The guard bowed and said, "Follow me, Lady Ursa,"

Zuko's mother smiled and followed the guard up to her room, leaving Zuko and Mai alone. Mai smiled and wrapped her arms around Zuko, "You must be so happy, your mother's alive and everything's good," She smiled, kissing his cheek.

Zuko grinned and looked at her, "I'm more than happy. My mother's alive. I'm the Fire Lord. The war's over. My friends are safe. And…" He smiled wider, leaning closer to Mai, "I have the greatest girlfriend of all time,"

Mai laughed and leaned closer too, closing the gap between them with a kiss. The couple continued at is for about a minute until Zuko came up with an idea.

He stood up and held his hand out for Mai. She grabbed it and smiled, standing up, but still confused about why they stopped kissing. The Fire Lord kissed her quickly before saying, "I got a message about a ball in Ba Sing Se yesterday. Aang and his friends will be going to it and they sent me an invitation."

Mai slightly laughed, "Are we going to it then?"

"Actually, no," Zuko said, frowning slightly, "We wouldn't be able to make it there in time anyway,"

Mai raised an eyebrow, "When is it though?"

Zuko frowned and said, "It's tonight, starting probably around right now," He looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set, then he grinned, "But I have a better idea,"

Mai raised her eyebrow again and said, "And what's that?" She smiled.

Without an answer, Zuko smiled lovingly and grabbed her right hand with his left and put his right hand on her waist. She smiled, knowing what was going on and put her left hand on his shoulder. She leaned against him, her head in the crook of his neck and sighed.

"You're right…This is a better idea," Mai smiled, resting her eyes.

"It gets even better," The scarred boy laughed, he motioned for some people to come into the courtyard. Mai looked and saw that a few people with string instruments and woodwinds came out. They began to play a slow romantic song and Mai laughed.

"You're so cheesy," Mai laughed, resting her head on his shoulder once more. Zuko chuckled and said, "You like it though…right?"

Mai smiled and said, "Yes…I like it,"

They both laughed and continued to slow dance as the set set behind them.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Sokka and Suki had enjoyed the feast as well. Suki, naturally was embarrassed though when Sokka started vigorously eating every meat in sight. Soon they were dismissed to go to the dance and Sokka led Suki into the ballroom with a grin on his face.

There was an orchestra seated in the corner of the large room. Sokka and Suki stared in awe at the huge room, hundreds of people spilling into it with their lovers. They looked over at Toph and The Duke, who were holding hands, walking towards the crowd. They smiled and looked over at the short couple.

"I see Toph was able to get The Duke to like her," Suki grinned, grabbing Sokka's hand.

Sokka smiled and said, "Yep, now everyone in Team Avatar has a girlfriend/boyfriend," yelling when he said 'Team Avatar'. People near them slightly stared at Sokka, who blushed and scooted away. Suki followed, shaking her head in embarrassment, but a smile on her face.

Suddenly, the orchestra started to play, everyone joined together for a large group dance. Sokka smiled and took Suki by the hand. They both grinned and started to dance around with everyone else in the ball room. They all had a great time dancing and twirling with the music.

**.**

**OoO**

**.**

Aang and Katara went along at the front of the crowd into the ballroom. Soon the orchestra had started playing music for a group dance and they walked up to Suki and Sokka. The dance started and Katara and Aang smiled.

Soon the time came in the dance to quickly change partners, Katara's eyes widened as she ended up with a small boy, probably only ten years old. The little boy smiled and took Katara's hand and kissing it. Katara stared weirdly at the boy as they danced. A few moments later, the people switched back to their original parteners. Katara was still in a weirded out shock, so was Aang, but when they saw eachother they smiled. They continued dancing and switching partners as the song went on.

When the end of the song was nearing, everyone switched partners one more time and Aang gasped at who he was dancing with. The girl looked at him and smirked.

"Ch-chiyemi?" Aang studdered, eyes wide. When the song ended, Katara walked back to Aang and saw the girl in front of him. She immediately recognized her from a few nights before.

"You're the girl from the tailor shop," Katara whispered, her eyes growing anger-filled.

"And you're the peasant who stole my dress," Chiyemi sneered.

Aang growled at her, "She isn't a peasant! She's my best friend and **girlfriend**!"

Chiyemi frowned, "She still had no right to steal my dress," She walked threateningly towards Katara, "Give it back. **Now.**"

"She didn't steal it, I heard a knock at our door in the middle of the night and the dress was there. You gave it to her!" Aang yelled, but in a quiet tone since people were near them. He was thankful that the music was blocking out their conversation to other people.

"I never gave the dress to her!" Chiyemi said, annoyed and angry.

Suddenly a woman came behind Chiyemi and Aang instantly recognized her as the tailer, Chiyemi's mother. "I did," She said.

"Mother! Why did you do that?!" Chiyemi yelled.

"The Avatar deserved it. I told him that there wouldn't be hugging or kissing and you deliberately disobeyed what I told you by doing so. So I gave him the dress for this young lady." Chiyemi's mother stated, "Come on, Chiyemi, We're leaving now. This will be your punishment,"

Chiyemi frowned and said, "That's not fair!"

"Yes, it is young lady," The tailor said, they began to leave and when she passed Aang she said, "I'm sorry,"

Aang knowingly nodded and turned back to Katara, "I'm sorry about that," He sorrowfully said.

Katara turned away, "It's okay…" Then she turned back to him with a smile, looking into his eyes, "But let's not let that ruin our time here," She smiled and kissed his cheek.

After that, the two of them continued dancing with everyone. Toph and the Duke happily danced, as well as Sokka and Suki. Soon enough, Aang and Katara made it to the dance floor. They lights faded down and they looked around. They saw that on a very high balcony they had a fire going with a strange metal cylinder around it. They looked weirded out up at it and suddenly a bright light shown down on them. Katara and Aang looked around and saw that the light was shining in a circle around them. They suddenly heard the Earth King say, "And now the Avatar and his girlfriend will start the final dance of the night,"

Katara and Aang's eyes were open wide as they heard the romantic song start to play. They looked into eachother's eyes and Aang's eyes gently faded into a loving gaze at her. Katara blushed and walked closer to Aang. The monk smiled and grabbed her hand and put his other hand on her waist. Katara shivered as goosebumps were sent up her spine. She put her other hand on his shoulder and met the boy's gaze. She smiled and continued to blush as she felt the stare of everyone in the ballroom.

A few moments later, she retracted her hand from his and wrapped both of her arms around Aang's neck, setting her head in the crook of his neck. He smiled and wrapped both of his arms gently around her waist and held her close as they danced. They heard many "Aww"s come from the room and they blushed harder. Katara only held tighter and looked over Aang's shoulder. She saw Sokka and Suki standing there. She looked at Sokka and saw him looking amused at their couple. She smiled at her brother and closed her eyes.

Little by little, more couples joined them, filling up the dance floor. Aang and Katara smiled, holding eachother close as they danced into the night.

.

.

_Okay, so I hope you liked it. This one is definitely longer that the other ones. This one is just about the length of two of my normal "episodes"_

_So yeah, now that I have my laptop back, I'll have episodes out 10x faster than usual =) So Yeah…_

_Thanks for reading!_


	9. Chapter 8: Uncovered Truths

**Author's Note: Well...It was faster than two months...Not as quick as I wanted it though...Sorry**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 8:

_Uncovered Truths_

_***_

The gaang once again found themselves gliding over the ocean on Appa. They had received a message from Zuko asking them to come to the Fire Nation as fast as they could. So they sat, laid back on different spots of Appa. Katara and Aang relaxed on Appa's head while the rest of them sat on the saddle like usual. Katara and Aang gazed into each other's eyes, thinking about the previous night, dancing in each other's arms. Toph had to leave the Duke in the Earth Kingdom, but they shared a loving kiss before Toph left. The kids were being taught how to read and write better by Suki. Even though they knew how, they were only beginners at it. Sokka was just taking a nap.

Soon enough, they made it to the Fire Nation Capitol where Zuko was waiting, a blank expression on his face. Mai waited there too, the same expression on her pale face. Appa landed down beside them and his passengers jumped off to greet their friends.

Aang ran up to Zuko and asked, "Did something happen? Why did we need to be here 'as soon as possible'"

Zuko frowned and said, "A few days ago, a winged horse washed up on our beach. I asked to have it stuffed so we could find out what it is and where it's from."

Katara's eyebrow raised and she asked, "A winged horse?"

"Yes," Zuko confirmed, "And it had the tail of a dragon or some other type of reptile,"

Katara turned to Aang and said, "Remember that book on those weird animals, Aang?"

"Yeah?" Aang asked, but then knew what she was talking about, "Oh yeah! We were looking at that dragon horse! This could be it!"

"Maybe," Zuko said, looking back at the palace, "Anyways, we have it all stuffed now so we can take a look at it,"

Aang grimaced at the thought of a stuffed animal, but continued with everyone else towards the palace. When they made it up the volcano and into the palace city, they followed some guards to a large room full of scientific objects. They followed the head scientist of the place towards a back room where they were keeping the stuffed animal.

They walked in and saw the large animal in the center of it. The group walked around it and gave it weird looks. Toph reached out and felt the skin and said, "It doesn't feel like a dragon. It's soft, like-,"

"Like a horsey!" Usagi said, jumping and reaching for the animal. She felt along it and said, "Yep, it's like a horsey,"

The rest of the group laughed at the girl and felt the skin of the animal. "Yeah, this looks just like the picture in the book." Katara stated, stepping back to see the animal from a different perspective."

"Well, now one mystery is solved about it," Zuko stated, looking around the dragon-horse's head, "But why would it have come from the ocean. It's clearly not aquatic," He felt along the neck, looking for maybe a hidden set of gills.

"I'm not real sure," Sokka said, "But it look's like you can ride it!," Sokka jumped up onto it and sat down.

"As a matter of fact, we did see a saddle-like object washed up near it," The scientist stated, the group looked at him and back to Sokka.

Sokka laughed and said, "Giddi-yup!"

The gang looked at him annoyed and shook their heads, Sokka chuckled and jumped off afterwards. They continued to observe it but then proceeded towards the Fire Nation library. After hours of searching, they found another book on ancient animals and looked into it.

Katara flipped through the old book and eventually found where Dragon Horse was.

She began to read it, saying, "It says here that they have been extinct since the beginning of bending itself, when the Avatar was first reincarnated from the Earth,"

Suki's eyebrow cocked, "Okay, well if they're that old of a species, why are we just now finding one?"

"I'm not sure," Katara replied, handing Zuko the book to look in, "But it probably has to do with the lights that keep forming." As if on que, the lights filled up the sky as they looked through the overhead window.

"That's been happening all week," Zuko said, looking up from the book, "They keep on flashing out randomly like they did when you guys were here last. I don't know what's going on, but I really want to find out and end it."

Sokka walked up and looked up at the window that was flaring with color. He brought his hand to his chin and said, "If only that owl-guy's library wasn't buried, then we might have been able to find out something about the horse or the lights, maybe both,"

Katara smirked and turned to Sokka, "Wow, Sokka, that is probably the smartest thing you've said in a long time. I'm proud of you," She laughed.

Sokka's eyebrow quirked in annoyance, "How is it smart, we can't even get there, like I said, it's underground," He said, emphasizing the word underground.

Katara's eyebrow also quirked, "Yeah, but we might just so happen to know someone who now knows how to bend sand," She silently pointed to Toph. Everyone turned to her with smiles on their faces.

Toph sighed, "Remember Katara, I'm not fully blind, I can tell that you're pointing at me, it's in the vibrations. Anyways, whatever, I'll do it."

Sokka mischievously grinned and said, "Looks like we're taking another vacation to…-THE LIBRARY!" He spun and pointed up like he did the last time they planned to go to the library. Everyone who was there before laughed, while the others stared at them, weird looks on their faces.

Soon they all arrived on the edge of the volcano that is the Fire Nation Palace, they waited there until a large airship appeared in front of them.

Aang smiled and walked up to Appa, "We're giving you a rest, buddy. Now you don't have to carry all of these people," He motioned towards their now bigger group of people.

They all boarded the large ship and sat around in the control room, looking out the large windows. Most of the teens, bored out of their mind, decided to roam around the ship while they waited. Toph and the kids had the most fun bothering the engineers of the ship. Sokka, Suki, Katara, and Aang, however, were engaged in a game of hide-and-go-seek. They had suddenly felt really naïve and began to play it.

Aang ran off and got to the outside of the ship, climbing along the edge of it. He attached his self against the side of the ship, laughing as the wind blew against him.

Katara went down to the engine room, where Toph was previously bothering engineers. She laughed as she asked if there were any good hiding spots down there and they weirdly pointed to a closet in the back. She laughed and followed where the man pointed to the closet and snuck inside. She wrinkled her nose at the stench of the room.

This is probably where they keep their stuff while they work…Ew

She grabbed her nose and exited the closet, making her way up to the top of the ship. On the way up, she was almost caught by Sokka as she jogged down the hallway. Thankfully for her, a few control room workers were on break, also walking down the hallway. She quickly ducked behind them, walking low behind them as Sokka passed.

She gave out a sigh of relief when she wasn't caught and thanked the workers for letting her hide behind them. She laughed and ran down the hallway. The workers looked at her weird but then continued down the hallway.

She continued up until she made it to the top of the ship. She climbed through a trap door in the ceiling and crawled onto the top. A sudden breeze blew her hair back as she closed the door behind her. She crawled along the top, holding onto a line of metal on the roof. She held on to the top and laid back against the rudder as the ship moved forward. She suddenly heard the door she climbed through open and she let out a small gasp.

Oh No! How could he have found me!

Suki's head popped out of the opening and she slightly yelped when she saw Katara. The girls starred wide-eyed at each other for a few moments but then laughed together. Suki climbed on and shut the door, climbing over to Katara.

Katara laughed and said, "Sokka'll never find us, he's probably still looking for me in the engine room. They stayed there for a few minutes before the door opened once again. The girls starred in shock as Sokka's head pop out of the door. He smirked and laughed.

"Ha! I knew I could find you guys!"

She stood up and helped Suki up as well. Suki began walking in defeat towards her boyfriend when suddenly the rudder turned to steer the airship to the left, heading directly towards the desert. It shook the airship slightly and Katara was knocked over the side. She let out a scream and expected to end up hurdling through the sky to her death.

She stared wide-eyed at where she landed though. Katara looked up and saw Aang standing there, holding her in his arms, a dumb-founded expression on his face. She blushed madly and Aang set her down on the metal beam he was standing on.

"What are you doing up here?" Aang asked, still confused.

Katara laughed, "I could ask you the same question, Aang," She looked up and saw Sokka looking over the edge in shock with Suki. She yelled up, "I'm okay!"

Sokka sighed with relief, "Okay, meet me in the control room!"

Katara smiled, grabbing Aang's hand and walking back to the control room.

When Katara walked in, she saw that Suki and Sokka had beat them there. She walked up to Zuko and said, "Thanks for turning the ship, I almost died." She said it sarcastically but she knew that she very well could have.

"Sorry, we meant to make it gentle, but-wait…why would you have almost died," The Fire Lord asked.

"We were playing hide-and-go-seek. Me and Suki were hiding on the top of the ship and you turned the ship. The rudder hit me and I fell. Thankfully, Aang was there to catch me!" She smiled at Aang but then turned back to Zuko.

"Okay then?" Zuko remarked, "Anyways. Sorry, we found out about a big storm near the Earth Kingdom's western boarder, we were trying to avoid it."

"A big storm? Like a typhoon?" Suki asked.

"Slightly. It's being caused by the lights. Numerous earthquakes have been setting off waves as well." Zuko answered her, turning towards the center window of the room.

They continued on with their conversation and soon went to bed. A few days passed before they made it to the desert. When they did, everyone was happy to be on land again.

Toph jumped off of the ship and landed on the sandy ground, she wiggled her toes around in it and smiled. "I can actually feel what the desert looks like now!" She laughed and ran around. Aang smiled and walked off the ship with the others.

They walked up to the previous sight of the library and looked down. He frowned slightly when he couldn't find the crater, but with the help of Toph, they were able to find it.

"It's right down here," Toph said, pointing down towards the sand beneath her.

Katara and Suki walked up to her, "Is it still intact?"

The blind girl squatted down and put her hand down onto the sand. She "looked" down in concentration and said, "Yeah, it is, it has a bunch of sand in it, though," She stood back up and turned to her friends.

Aang walked over to Toph and said, "Well, we need to find a way to get in,"

"I could make a tunnel-like thing and bust open a door," Toph suggested, getting in a stance.

Katara walked up also, "As long as you don't break it down in the process, I'm fine with that," Everyone else nodded and gathered around Toph.

She formed a tunnel of sand but had to keep spinning it around to keep it intact. Aang jumped as he thought of a way to make this fun, he smiled and whispered into Zuko's ear. Zuko frowned at first but then laughed, "Yeah, sure, it might work,"

He and Aang walked up to the tunnel. Toph busted a whole into the wall and Aang whispered into her ear with a laugh. The rest of their group looked at them weirdly as Aang and Zuko took a stance.

In response to what Aang whispered, Toph laughed and said, "You're so naïve, Twinkle-Toes."

Aang smiled and his eyes flashed white for a split second before shooting a large fierce blast of fire into the tunnel. Zuko joined in and forced all of his energy into one long blast of fire. The group stood back in wonder as the two continued to blast the hole. Zuko stood back as well as Aang spun around in a circle suddenly, shooting air into the hole. He laughed and backed up slightly, looking at the glass tunnel he created.

Zuko walked up and looked into the hole with a laugh. "Yep, it looks like it worked."

The rest of the group ran to the tunnel and weirdly looked at it, "It's a slide!" Aang shouted. He quickly wrapped his arms around Katara's waist and pulled her back with him. She yelped but laughed as they jumped into the hole. The two of them sped off into to tunnel and into the busted open door. The last thing they heard was Katara scream with laughter as they fell down the long tunnel.

Sokka watched as his sister and the Avatar slid down the slide and disappeared. He smirked and copied Aang, wrapping his arms around Suki and pulling her down with him. They laughed as they slid down and Zuko smiled looking down at them. He turned to the workers of their airship and ordered them to guard Appa. They didn't want to lose him again.

He spun around to see where the kids had disappeared to and noticed them about ten feet behind him. He only had a second to jump out of the way as he saw them running towards him at full speed. He fell backwards as the kids ran and jumped into the hole, giggling the whole way.

He laughed and watched them go down the tunnel. He bent over to look down the dark tunnel, but instantly felt nervous.

Mai sighed, "Well, I guess I'll have to go down sometime." She sighed, again, and jumped down into the tunnel, sliding down it without a word.

Zuko watched her and he felt like a complete child being scared of a slide, so he shook it off and jumped in. He slid down for about ten seconds before suddenly being in the air. His eyes widened as he fell, looking down as he saw his friends walking around.

Katara turned around and yelled, "Wait! Don't forget about Zuko, Aang!"

Aang spun around and thrust air in Zuko's direction, slowing his fall. Zuko landed softly and jogged over to his friends.

"Wooaah!" The three kids laughed and ran around the large library. Katara smiled at them and looked around the large place. She turned around the corner and almost screamed at what she saw.

Aang and the others ran over to Katara, seeing her as she held her hand to mouth. She jumped back and clutched onto Aang, small tears of fear in her eyes. Toph held the kids back as the rest of them looked down and saw what the problem was.

Professor Zhei.

His decaying body laid there, three books in his hands, turned open to pages on ancient writings and arithmetic. Books lay scattered around him.

The group slowly stepped back, but Aang walked forward, kneeling in front of the dead professor. He muttered a prayer to the spirits that he rest in peace and slowly stood up, walking back to the gang. Sokka noticed that Aang was slightly sad, so he put his hand on the boy's shoulder, saying, "He wanted to die here, Aang,"

Aang sighed and said, "I know…,"

He walked off, looking around at the tall shelves of books. He eyed the signs on the walls that indicated how the books were ordered, "D….D's...," He muttered looking up at them. He continued on down the row, reading the signs and read them aloud. His eyes widened as he saw the words "Dragon Horse" appear on the wall. He smiled and turned around to his friends, he only saw Zuko and called out to him. "Hey, I found it!"

Zuko jogged over and grabbed the new-found book from Aang, flipping it open to read through it. The others heard Aang's call and ran over as well.

A few minutes later, Zuko had skimmed through the whole book. He frowned, "It basically says the same thing our book said. Just information about it and how it was from the beginning of bending itself."

Suki looked down in thought. She brought her head up with an idea and said, "Well, then, how 'bout we look up the lights?"

Aang smiled and let out a small laugh. "Okay!" He laughed, jumping up the shelves and looking for the "L" section of the large library.

Katara smiled at her childish boyfriend, laughing quietly to herself as she followed him on the floor. They looked through the rows for almost an hour before they found the word "lights" in it. Unfortunately for them, the only things on lights were books and scrolls on how to create fire and what a light is. Disappointed with their efforts, Zuko tossed the book to the ground and grunted.

"This is a huge library, it would take months, maybe even years to look through it all," He grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Aang frowned, "Well, maybe we're not looking up the right thing…"

The rest of the group sighed and began thinking of what else they could look up. Aang crossed his hands over his chest and sighed, going into deep thought like the others.

In the era before the Avatar…they bent not the elements…but the energy within themselves.

Aang's eyes opened wide and he jumped up, shouting, "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"

The group looked at him weirdly and the kids jumped up and said, "He's got an idea!" The rest of them looked from Aang to the kids and back, waiting for an explanation.

Aang's face was contorted in deep thought as he stuttered, relaying his ideas to them, "Uhmmm, when I defeated Ozai, I took his bending away-,"

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wait, Sokka," Aang said, putting his hands in fists, not in anger, but just in thought, "While I was doing that, the Lion-Turtle that told me how…his voice came into my head and he said 'In the era before the Avatar, they bent not the elements, but the energy within themselves',"

The gang continued to look at him, weird expressions on their faces. Aang frowned, "Stop giving me that look,"

"Well, you're sorta just rambling, Aang," Suki pointed out.

Aang sighed, "I'm just saying, the lion turtle said 'In the era before the Avatar', right?"

"Yeah, that's what you told us," The group said, slightly lessening their weird look.

Katara's eyes widened as she began to catch on, "And the dragon-horse is from before bending itself, so basically before the Avatar,"

Aang smiled, looking at his girlfriend, and then to the group again, "Right. And do all of you remember seeing blue and red lights the night I defeated Ozai?"

"Yeah…" Sokka said, still trying to really grasp what the monk was talking about, his eyes shot open and he said, "And what you're saying is that maybe the lights are the same kind of light you and Ozai made when you beat him!"

"Good Job, Sokka! That's another smart thing you've said on this mission!" Toph said in a sarcastic voice, even though she really meant it.

Sokka smirked, "Thanks, I've been on a role lately!"

Suki smiled, "So now all we need to do is find out what that's called…"

They looked down in thought again and their silence was ruined when Mai surprisingly spoke up to talk, "You said that the turtle thing said that people bent the energy within themselves instead of the elements, so how 'bout looking up energybending?"

Zuko smiled and wrapped his arm around her, "That's a great idea,"

Mai smiled as well and looked towards the group to see if they liked her idea, they seemed to so they took about an hour looking it up.

When they finally got to the point in the library that said 'energy', they slowed and began searching through that one section. For about ten minutes they searched, trying to find something…anything on energy bending. Finally they came across it and Aang looked at the cover of the book. Seeing that it was a lion turtle, he smiled and flipped the extremely dusty book open. The dust was so thick that he could hardly see the words. He frowned and dusted off some of it with his hand. Afterwards, he looked at his palm.

"Ew," he muttered, wiping it on his pants, so sucked in a deep breath of air and blew it on the old book. He was taken aback by the large cloud of dust that was formed when he blew on it. His eyes trembled as they shut and he coughed.

Katara slightly smiled, thinking it was funny. The airbender wiped off his dust covered eyes and smiled as well. Katara and him looked down at the book, while the others crowded behind them.

Aang began reading, "Energy Bending: An ancient form of defense and power that would grasp the chi flowing through a person's body. When preformed correctly, with a strong will, the energy would flow directly from the victim to the bender."

"That's basically what happened with me and Ozai," Aang said.

He continued, "There are three ways of performing this difficult task, the most common is the placing of your hands on the forehead and chest of the victim. You would close your eyes and concentrate on nothing but attaching yourself the their chi paths. Once you have connected with the chi paths, you must direct the energy through to your body, this causes a colorful glow to erupt from your body."

"Is that the glow that we saw during the comet?" Katara asked, "Was it the chi from your bodies?"

"I guess so," Aang said, reading on a few more sentences, "That's what it says here."

"Well, keep reading," Zuko said, waving towards the book.

Aang squinted his eyes to try and read the rest of the words, he blew on the page again, but the thick layer of dust did not budge. He frowned and tried to dust it with his hand, but it was to no prevail.

"The dust won't clear, I can't read any further," Aang sighed, he turned the page and for the next ten pages of the book it was only pictures of the steps. He wished to read on but unfortunately, the remaining pages were either ripped out or covered with the same thick layer of dust. He slid the book back into the shelf and sighed.

"Well, that was useless," Toph said in her usual annoyed and sarcastic voice, "It only told you what you already knew."

Buyou walked up and said, "It wasn't completely useless. The book said that people made those lights cause it was their chi paths showing on the outside. There are probably people down there!"

The group looked at him and then to each other, thinking that what the boy had said might actually be true.

.

OoO

.

A young boy and girl were playing outside with a ball. Their armadillo dog running along side them, barking happily. It jumped around with joy, pushing the ball along with it's nose. Suddenly the dog smelled a strange scent coming from the beach. He barked in wonder and rolled into a ball, hurdling itself towards the shore.

"Kyjo!" The boy and girl screamed, running after their pet. Their mother heard them scream and dropped the plate she was washing, she ran outside to her children and saw them sprinting towards their dog.

"Aylinn! Ten-ka!" She yelled, running after her children. She followed them until they reached the beach and stopped. She was about to give her children the lecture of a lifetime before she saw what their dog had ran off for. It was on the shore of the beach, dragging what looked to be a man from the sea.

The woman gasped and told her children to stay back and she ran towards the dog. She grabbed the clothes of the man and helped her pet pull him in. Several of the other villagers had seen and were now running to assist the woman. They flipped the man over onto his back and checked him for any injuries.

The pale man had stopped breathing and appeared to have drowned.

"Where could he have come from?" Another woman asked, slight terror in her voice.

"I don't know," said a man next to her that appeared to be her husband, "We haven't allowed any boats out since the lights have been happening for the villagers safety,"

The original woman turned to the villagers and asked, "Could he have been from another village?"

"No, that couldn't be," An elderly man disagreed, "They closed down all boat houses in all the other nearby coastal villages and towns as well.'

They turned back to the pale corpse and the woman said, "He's dressed so strangely, I wonder where he's from."

.

OoO

.

"Woah, that could be true," Aang said, looking at his friends. He stood up from his kneeling position and said, "When me an Katara went into the whirlpool and hit the bottom, we stood up and saw figures that looked like people surrounding it. They could be the people. They could be the energy benders."

The group put all of their eyes on him as he said, "We've already figured out that energy bending is what is causing this. There seems to be people down there. We have pretty much all of our questions answered except one. Why are there people down there?"

Once again, the group looked down in thought.

Their thoughts were interrupted as they heard a loud ear piercing screech come from a few hundred feet away. They all gasped and turned into the direction of the sound. Suddenly, a large bookcase, hundreds of feet into the air, collapsed in a large cloud of dust. Out of the cloud came the knowledge spirit, angry.

"How many times must I tell you humans to stay away from my library!" It shouted, screeching as it flew towards them.

The group yelled and screamed in fear as they began running from the angry spirit.

"It's the owl guy! I thought he was dead!" Sokka shouted, running crazily away.

"Spilt up! He can't chase all of us!" Aang yelled, he grabbed Katara's hand and pulled her down a long hallway. The three kids ran to the left and screamed. Toph, Sokka, and Suki ran kept running forward.

Zuko stopped and turned around, sending a large blast of fire towards the owl.

"It's useless, I know every form of bending known to man. Any move. Any shot you shoot at me." The owl cawed, charging forward.

At as loss of what to do, he grabbed Mai's hand and followed after the kids, but turned a different hallway.

The owl turned towards Katara and Aang, seeing them disappear into the darkness. Aang turned down a hallway and eventually grew pitch black. They heard the owl come towards them and they instantly held their breath, hiding themselves behind a shelf. Katara clung to Aang from behind and buried her face into the curve between his next and shoulder to try and hide her breathing.

They suddenly heard his voice behind them and Katara screamed.

.

OoO

.

Sokka heard a scream come from where Katara and Aang ran and he stopped, realizing that the bird hadn't followed them.

"Katara!" He yelled.

What if the bird got her?

He began to panic. He nervously turned around, instantly wishing that he had stopped to look for his sword. Then he'd be able to protect her and everyone else.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Suki asked, knowing that he had stopped. She turned to him and waited for an answer.

"That scream." He muttered, "That sounded exactly like Katara! We have to help her!" He started running in the direction of Katara and Aang. Suki hesitated before rushing after him towards the younger couple.

.

OoO

.

Aang swiftly spun Katara and him around to protect her. While her hands were grasping his shoulder, he lifted his arms, blasting the owl backwards. "Run!" He cried to the girl behind him. She felt the hands on his shoulders squeeze as a gesture saying "Okay," before releasing him.

He heard her footsteps running away and he smiled to himself. He stood in a stance as he heard Sokka running towards them.

"You chose the worse place to be, Avatar," The owl sneered, "I can see in the darkness and you can not."

Aang frowned and blew fire towards the owl. The spirit reared back and Aang used that opportunity to run back, almost crashing into Sokka on the way.

"This way!" Aang yelled towards the warrior, "Katara's fine, just follow me!"

Sokka nodded and followed Aang blindly at a fast pace. They met up with Katara when they could see again and they all jogged in the direction of their friends. Suki ran up to them as well and the four of them ran down the long library hallway. Suddenly the owl jumped out behind them. The teens screamed and ran faster to get away. Aang shot a tornado towards him with his hand and the owl tripped over. The airbender shifted the ground forward and sent the owl backwards.

He noticed that his friends had ran forward already so he jumped on his air scooter to catch up. He caught up with them and saw that Zuko and Mai had joined them.

"Where are Toph and the kids?" Aang asked as he jumped off of his air scooter to join his friends in running. He ran next to Katara and they smiled a nervous smile at each other. They heard the owl screech in anger behind them and it sent goose bumps down their spines.

"I'm not sure," Katara panted, looking behind to see where the owl was. He was dizzily flying towards them, knocking over numerous books and scrolls.

Aang stopped abruptly and kneeled down, placing his hand down to the ground, feeling for the vibrations of their friends. He suddenly felt Toph and stood up.

"Go down there! Toph's over there." Aang said, pointing towards an approaching turn. They ran down the hallway and saw Toph running down it.

She turned around suddenly, an angry expression on her face. "There you guys are! I've been looking for you! The kids ran off and I got worried that the owl got them!"

The group looked at each other worriedly. Aang and Toph simultaneously dropped to the ground, feeling for the vibrations of the kids. Toph was the first to speak.

"They're down this way!" She yelled, running and motioning in the direction of the kids.

.

OoO

.

Running frantically to get away, the children were running out of breath. They stopped to catch their breath but suddenly the owl appeared out of the corner and they screamed. Noboru lifted his long mallet and got into a stance that Sokka had taught him.

He swung at the large bird and missed. Angrilly, the owl grabbed the boy's stick with his beak and tossed it across. The shaggy haired boy eyed the owl and his mallet with wide-eyes before scampering off to grab his weapon. Usagi had jumped up and formed the spinning earth move Toph had taught her. She pushed the spinning mound of earth towards the owl and it knocked him back a bit. The owl screeched with anger and hissed, "I will not be hurt by the likes of you children!"

He charged towards the small girl, ready to strike.

Buyou was faster though. He pulled one of his bamboo shoots from his pocket, loaded with a pain-pincher spit dart. He sucked in a large amount of breath before blowing harshly into the small tube. The dart was launched towards the spirit bird and stuck him directly in the neck.

The spirit was knocked back and screeched loudly with pain and agony. The eight year old repeatedly shot the darts into the owl and finally gave up, shooting a temporary paralyzing dart into the bird's neck.

This left the bird, paralyzed, staring at the ceiling above.

Moments later, the rest of the gang ran up, looking from the kids to the owl and back in shock.

"Did you take him down?" Aang asked, pointing at the bird, who's leg twitched. Aang looked at it slightly disgusted and turned to the small eight year old for an answer.

"Never underestimate the power of heavy duty paralyzing spit darts." Buyou said, twirling his bamboo shoot in his hand proudly. He turned to the small girl he had protected.

"You okay, Usagi?" He asked, a childish smile on his face.

Usagi smiled back and squeaked, "Yep."

Sokka looked down at the owl and frowned, "Well, we should probably get him tied up," He pointed at the bird and looked around for something to use. He spotted some rope down the hallway that was supporting a bookcase and ran over to it, grabbing the rope and running back.

While the warrior got to work tying up the owl, the others walked around, still trying to find out why people were at the bottom of the ocean.

After a few minutes, the owl was all tied up and still paralyzed. They walked away from him and found an old sitting area. They sat down and Zuko said, "The 'energy benders' lived during the time of the first Avatar, right?"

"Right." The others replied.

"Then look up something about the first Avatar, does anyone know his name?" The Fire Lord asked, lounging back in his chair.

Aang smiled and said, "Yeah! It's Ryuu…Avatar Ryuu was the first one," He got up from his seat and said, "I'll look it up!"

He flew up and jumped around the library while the others waited. Minutes later, the boy returned with a small, torn up book. "This book has everything," He laughed, handing the old book to Katara. She flipped it open and wiped the dust off the page. She silently read to herself, flipping quickly through the pages. She went to a section of the book marked,

'The End of the Energy Benders" and began to read.

"It says here that Energy Benders and Non-benders were the only people that made up the population of the earth. When the Avatar was first discovered as a powerful being, a reincarnation of the Earth itself, the people started to fear him. They began to form an army against him, but many went on the Avatar's side as well. A battle was fought between them that lasted for many years, but in the end the Avatar's side won and he banished them to the bottom of the ocean." She closed the book abruptly and set it in her lap.

"That answers our question," She said, "The people down there, they were banished. And apparently they are still there."

.

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.


	10. Chapter 9: The Underwater City

A/N: I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad right now! I have waited over three months to update and this isn't even a really great chapter! Please forgive me! :'( What would Jesus do? Anyways…there was a reason for my hiatus. I did a lot of things during this long break…

_1. I went to Disney World for pete's sake, I didn't want to write! _

_2. My computer has been all screwy lately._

_3. Writer's block…_

_4. (Somewhat like #3) Lack of inspiration…_

_5. All of these stupid End of the Year projects and such…_

_6. Stupid tests…_

_7. Sudden hatred of everything technological._

_8. Sudden obsession of Inuyasha _

_9. Sudden obsession of hatred of a mean girl who's stealing my best friend from me!_

_10. Sudden obsession of food._

_11. Sudden obsession of losing the weight gained by that food._

_12. Sudden obsession with guys._

_13. Sudden obsession with getting good grades._

_14. Sudden obsession with hating how fat I am._

_15. Sudden obsession about how mean I have been not updating this._

_16. Sudden obsession with finishing this chapter finally_

_17. Sudden obsession with writing what has been going on in the past 3 months and a day_

_18. Sudden obsession of writing what I have been suddenly obsessed with_

_19. Sudden obsession with deciding to stop…_

_Okay…So that's what's been going on. I will write non-stop for the next week to get the next chapter. And if I don't get it out…well…I am going to get it out. :'(_

_I'm such a meanie! _

_Here's the chapter…_

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 9:

The Underwater City

.

After leaving the library, the gang set out to go once more to the source of the lights. On the way, of course, they stopped by the site of the Sozin's Comet battle sight. Sokka spent about two days looking for his space sword and boomerang before finally finding them. Nobody in all of Team Avatar had ever seen Sokka so happy, not even Katara, who had known him her entire life. When they finally were back in the air, they spent the next few days flying back to the Fire Nation.

They arrived at the palace and switched their stuff back to Appa. Mai and Zuko stayed because Zuko needed to tend to some affairs. This left Suki, Sokka, Aang, Katara, Toph, and the kids, leaving for another mission.

"We should be there in about a day," Sokka said, loosening his grip on Appa's saddle. He laid back on Appa's neck and reached his arms back and around his head to relax. Everyone else laid back as well.

Katara looked up at the sky, and then all around her. She reached up and wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, shivering.

"It's getting cold," She said, scooting closer to Aang, leaning her head on his shoulder. The airbender smiled.

"It's almost the Air season," Aang sighed, breathing in a breath of air, "Ahhh,"

The group smiled at him, also breathing in the slightly cold Autumn air. Sokka climbed over Appa's saddle and plopped himself down next to Suki, looking at her lovingly before gazing out to the ocean, watching a dolphin he saw.

That's how the next hour went. It was spent watching birds or other creatures in the sea and sky. Strangely, no storms were cursing the area. A strange kind of peace was shining down on that place. Lately, the storms and lights were bothering them, but now there were none. No storms. No lights. They journeyed on, eventually reaching the swirling whirlpool.

They flew over and looked down into the spiraling cylinder. They saw the ocean floor at the bottom, glistening with the water that sprayed down on it. Aang took over on Appa and guided the bison closer. The large creature seemed hesitant to go very close.

Aang leaned over the bison's head to look at him in the eye. "Come on, buddy. We have to go in and see what's wrong…It'll be okay," He pet the animal's ear and he groaned with a shy 'okay'.

Aang smiled and jumped back up to his seat.

"Everybody ready?" He asked, turning his head to his friends.

He heard them reply saying, "Yes," and he steered Appa downward, into the whirlpool.

He was still hesitant to go in, but he did what his master told him too. They landed at the bottom and looked around, then up to the sky above.

They heard a loud boom that was accompanied by a jolt in the ground. The gang fell over and Appa laid down to keep his ground. The group looked up in fear as they heard rushing of water above them. They saw the water crashing down from the top of the whirlpool. Everyone screamed. Aang and Katara had a moment of déjà vu as they found themselves bending a bubble around them to protect their group.

Only this time was different.

The water was fighting back.

The couple felt the water pushing them back, making it hard to bend. It was as if it was being bent against them. They fought harder to keep everyone alive, beads of sweat appearing on their foreheads.

While his sister and friend were bending, Sokka noticed shadows coming towards them from the water. At the same time, Toph and Sokka both yelled, "There are figures coming towards us!"

The group turned towards them and then to where Sokka was pointing. They too saw the figures walking towards them and Appa groaned with fear. Suddenly the waterbending couple felt the water stop fighting. They lessened their grip on it but still stood with their hands to the air.

The water where the figures were suddenly divided, revealing three middle-aged men dressed in strange attire. They had purple robes with a strange green pattern decorated into them. A thick gold ribbon was wrapped around their waists and the remaining strands of it lifted up behind their backs, attaching to the shoulder of their robes.

Aang was the first to break the silence between the two groups of people, he felt the three kids grasping onto him from behind in fear, "Uhhmm, who are you?"

Without answering, two of the three men swiftly surrounded them, encasing them in a ring of blue and red fire.

_They can bend fire…_ The group gasped.

"Are you intruders from the world above?" The remaining man asked, getting right in Aang's face. Aang reeled back and the kids behind him squealed with fear.

"Well, we're from the upper world, I guess, yeah." He muttered, pointing up and doing air quotes as he said 'upper world', "But we're not intruders."

The men did not seem pleased and made the flames around the gang flare harder. The group squeezed into a circle in the center of the ring, to avoid the fire.

Katara gently, but swifly pushed Aang aside and explained, "We read some books and scrolls about how people lived down here. We just wanted to see if it was true, and learn more about your people." The group's eyes shown brightly to help their chances of getting in.

The men eyed them and pulled black ribbons from their robes, saying, "We will let you in, but you must be blindfolded until our King decides what to do with you,"

The group looked at each other and nodded, then proceeding to nod at the men, agreeing with their terms. The men proceeded to tie the blindfolds around their eyes, to block their seeing. Toph told them she was blind, but they tied the blindfold on her anyways. They wrapped a large rope around them and guided them through an ice-made tunnel. T hey walked into a cold, large area for about twenty minutes before finally reaching their King.

"Who are these strange people," A low, booming voice said from in front of them.

"They are intruders from the upper world." Their captors responded, from a lower point, obviously bowing to their leader.

Aang annoyedly said, "I told you we're not intruders."

"Silence!" The booming voice commanded. Aang took this opportunity to shut up and listen.

"The upper world you say?" Came a younger man's voice, probably late teens early twenties.

The gang turned in his direction to listen. "Yes, Prince Kang-Dae…They showed up on this giant beast, flying in from the land above." The leader of the three men confirmed.

"I see," Prince Kang-Dae said, he became silent as his father began talking.

The King angrily sighed, "Send them to the dungeon, we do not accept visitors, especially in this time. Our population has gone ramped; we cannot have any more people in our city!"

The gang slightly gasped with fear as they felt a tugging on the rope that surrounded them, most likely to take them to a dungeon.

"Wait, Father," The younger voice of Kang-Dae spoke, "I have always wondered about the Upper World, ever since I was a child. Maybe these strangers can teach us something, something useful to us."

Aang and the gang smiled as they saw their freedom coming very soon.

The booming voice came again, "That is true…We have never had a visitor from the upper world, only from that wretched town of Hue-Dai we had to destroy…" He trailed off. "Very well. Let them stay."

The gang smiled wider as they were untied and unblindfolded. They rubbed their eyes to adjust to the light and looked up at the King and Prince before them. Prince Kang-Dae was a muscular looking man, but he only looked about the age of seventeen. He had brown hair that reached down to the middle of the back of his neck. He had the top part in a formal knot with a supposed royal diadem sticking through it. His eyes were a deep blue color and he had a slightly pointed face. He also had a natural smirking look. He wore lots of chain mail and other armor, as if preparing for a battle. He also had a large sword laying right in front of him.

The group looked over at the king of the city. He was a largely muscular man, with shoulder length black hair. He had a short beard and he was also dressed as if for a war. His eyes were an amber color and his face was long like his son's. His face didn't show either kindness or hate, but seemed to have stress marks. He stood and waved his hand to his son, "Kang-Dae."

"Yes, Father?"

"Give these people a tour of our city. If we are to learn anything about their culture, we shall tell them about ours." He pointed towards a large door that possibly led to a hallway.

"I shall, Father," The teen replied, standing from his seat, taking his sword with him, and walking towards the gaang. He smiled and said, "Your tour starts over here, follow me,"

He led them towards the door and a small boy struggled to open it for him.

"Faster." Kang-Dae commanded the boy. The boy shrunk down with fear and continued to stuggle to get the door open.

"Here, I'll help you," Buyou said, smiling, jogging up to the boy.

The prince stopped him with his staff, "He can get it by himself. If he ever amount to anything, he'll have to build muscle. Leave him be."

Buyou looked at the prince and then to the boy, the boy met his gaze and sadly resumed pulling on the door. He eventually got the door open and the group walked by. Everyone in the Aang gaang looked sadly at the boy. Usagi turned and waved to the boy, smiling. The boy slightly smiled back, also waving.

They walked down the hallway and the gaang saw many slave children running around, doing chores for the different people in the palace. Some looked malnourished and some just looked overworked. They were sweaty and looked like they had never been happy in their life. Katara frowned sadly as she saw the small children do all the work. She couldn't take it anymore, she had to ask…

"Why are there so many slave children? Certainly you have older workers," She said, seeing the children ranging from six to twelve years old. The group stopped and Kang-Dae turned to her.

He began explaining, "Our city is hard to hold up. We constantly have food shortages so we need as many workers in the fields as we possibly can. So, the children are taught discipline at an early age so they can work in the fields earlier. They stay with their parents until they are six, then they go to work here or they go to The School. Once they are thirteen, they go to the fields. After that, once they are twenty, they sort of have the choice to be a fielder, baker, or something like that."

Katara looked down sadly, wishing that they had happier lives. They continued on in their tour to the outside and they gazed out at the huge city. They gaped at the largeness of it and Aang said, "Wow. That's a lot bigger than I thought it would be…"

"Yes, our city is pretty big. But surely you have cities that match to this size." Kang-Dae said, smiling, his arms behind his back formally. He looked to the group for an answer and they smiled at each other.

"Yeah, you could say that. We have a city called Ba-Sing-Se…It's probably ten times this size," Sokka laughed, looking at the underwater city.

Kang-Dae's eyes widened as he looked at the warrior, but then he looked back to his city, "Well, then. I would love to see it someday. It seems like it's an amazing city."

Toph shrugged, "It's not that great, with all their rules and regulations. I can't even see it anyway." She waved her hand in front of her face and frowned.

"We lived in Ba Sing Se for a long time!" Usagi piped in, a wide smile on her face. The group and Kang-Dae smiled at her, and they continued their tour.

The gaang looked up to the 'sky' and saw a team of dragon-horses in the sky. On their backs were men dressed like the guards who found them. Aang saw them and opened his mouth happily, "Hey! Those are dragon horses! The ones we read about!"

Kang-Dae turned to them and said, "Yes, dragon horses are our most obedient animals in our city. They are ridden only by our guards and other police like people. Do they have stories about them on the surface or someything?"

It was Suki's turn to talk, "Yeah, we read about them in Ba-Sing-Se, but then one washed up on the shores of the Fire Nation and we had it stuffed to see what it looked like alive."

Kang-Dae raised an eyebrow, "Fire Nation?"

"Oh, right." Suki said, laughing slightly, "Our world is divided into four nations. Though one of them was wiped out," She looked sadly to Aang and Katara looked at him as well, "They're named after the four elements of water, earth, fire, and air."

"Oh, I see…" Kang-Dae said, looking down in thought, he rose up again and said, "Anyways, you were saying? One washed up on your beach?"

Aang said, "Yeah, a few weeks ago I think."

"Hmm, well, I think I know how it got there," He began to explain, "Last week, we were going through our yearly dragon-horse training day, and we had to get them to obey so we whipped them," Aang flinched when he said whipped, then the teen continued, "One of them went crazy when we did and flung his rider around, dashing for the door. It burst past the guards and the ice wall of our door to the whirlpool, it must have gone into the water and drowned."

He noticed that his head had drooped down and lifted it back up again, "Was there a man on the saddle when you found it?"

"No, but there was a saddle," Sokka replied, shrugging.

"I see…" Kang-Dae said, his eyes downcast, "That man was my best friend, Tyrinn." He spun around slowly on his heels and continued walking. He shook off his sadness that showed and walked at a faster pace.

"I have a question," Toph said, raising her hand. Kang-Dae turned to her and smiled.

"Yes?"

"When you had said fields…what do you grow down here? I thought plants needed the sun to grow." The blind girl continued, shrugging, "Also, I feel like I'm standing on earth like was on the surface, but we're not on the surface."

Kang-Dae smiled and said, "Our city is lucky to have a spirit join us in the real world, her name is Mitsu, because she is a light. She was one of the very first spirits to come into the world. She produces a light when she rolls into a sphere that allows our plants to flourish."

"Is Mitsu the reason it seems like it is daytime down here? I mean, since you're at the bottom of the ocean, the sun can't reach all the way, can it?"

"You're right, Mitsu provides the light in our city. Though as you have probably noticed, it is terribly cold down here. Our spirit, Mitsu isn't a heat spirit…so most of our people must where coats or just bear with it. Mitsu's light gives off some heat, so that we don't freeze, but not much. We do have a small, less powerful light spirit giving us light and heat in the fields, but no where else. His name is Borvo."

"And the surface thing?" Toph reminded him.

"Right. Thousands of years ago, when we had been banished to the bottom of the sea, where we are now, they knew we wouldn't be able to provide for ourselves. So, they broke off a large circle of land and with the help of their many benders, they brought it to the bottom of the sea. This gave us fertile land for farming. Now we plant everything that you probably grow up in the Upper World."

"Could we see the fields?" Katara asked, smiling.

"Certainly." Kang-Dae agreed, waving for them to follow them around a corner of their huge city. They followed him down a large tunnel and they were taken aback by the wave of heat that flashed over them. Kang-Dae walked up to some guards with whips in their hands, taking off his coat and handing it to them as they kneeled to him.

He walked back to the gaang and led them in, showing them the large area that was The Fields. They looked across the large space and saw many teenagers and young adults working. They saw many young girls and boys running with buckets of the water, giving water to the workers. One girl, probably Buyou's age, ran past them with two heavy-looking buckets of water. She looked over and saw the group, thinking they looked strange, how they were dressed. She panted as she continued running and tripped over a misplaced rock. She stumbled to the floor and the buckets fell over, splashing to the ground and soaking her. The guards ran up and scolded her, pulling her to her feet.

They led her away and she had a terrified look on her face. The gaang looked at the girl worriedly and in shock as she was pulled away. They looked from the girl to Kang-Dae as he did nothing to stop them.

"Um…where are they taking her?" Aang felt the need to ask. He walked up behind him to await his answer.

The prince turned around and said, "To be punished, most likely. Like I said before, the children need discipline." He said that very simply.

The gaang looked around at each other as they continued into the large area of fields. They looked up into the air and saw a spinning bright yellow object in the center of it. Kang-Dae raised his arm to present the strange object, saying, "That is Borvo. As I said before, he gives the light and heat needed for our plants to grow." There was a smile in his voice and the gaang smiled too, looking at the spinning spirit.

"Does he ever get a break?" Katara asked, seeing as Borvo spun rapidly in a sphere.

"No, the plants can't be exposed to such darkness. They would have to rely on the light given to us by Mitsu, and even then there would be no heat left for them. We would all starve. Borvo knows this though so he is determined to keep us alive and well." He smiled and showed them all the workers in the fields.

He turned around and they joined him as he walked back into the city, walking around the town itself. They saw a decent sized wooden hut called The Baker Shop and stopped for some food. They went in and suddenly the smell of freshly baked breads waved into their noses. They sighed in pleasure as they took a seat at a wooden table. Katara sat down and Aang scooted over to sit next to her. Kang-Dae sat next to her as well and smiled, looking down at her.

Aang looked at the prince weirdly as he scooted next to her, recommending a certain meal. Aang frowned and recommended a meal to his girlfriend that he thought would taste good. Kang-Dae frowned as well and straightened his posture, trying to make himself more presentable.

Katara looked from Aang to Kang-Dae and back, a weird expression tinting her face. She shrugged it off, looking down at a menu handed to her by one of the bakers. Aang looked down at his as well, looking at a loaf with cheese that he wanted. They gave the baker their orders and Katara settled with a darker brown loaf with salmon on the side. She took a sip of water and set her cup back down on the table. She stared at her cup and turned to Kang-Dae.

"How do you have fresh water down here, you're surrounded by salt water." Katara asked, her eyebrows tilting upward.

Kang-Dae smiled and let out a short chuckle, "Well, like you guys said, you have bending up on the surface, well, so do we. Have you ever thought that salt was earth? Our waterbenders bend water from the ocean and the earthbenders bend the salt and other dirt out, this makes our water fresh enough to drink." To conclude his small speech, he took a sip out of his cup of water.

"Well, that's cool, I never thought of that." Katara smiled, looking up at Kang-Dae.

Kang-Dae smiled back, thinking that they were getting closer and closer together. He smiled and scooted slightly closer to Katara. Aang noticed this and frowned, scooting closer to Katara as well.

Soon enough, Katara found herself sandwiched between the two boys like a sardine. She wriggled her arms free and glared at the two boys, saying angrily, "Okay, guys. Give me some space," She pushed the boys back and they stared at her in slight shock. She frowned but then switched back to a smile as she said, "Thank you,"

After finishing their meal, Kang-Dae asked if he could treat them to dessert, saying that Koulen was the best cake-baker in the city. Kang-Dae tried once more with Katara and suggested a white cake with a strawberry filling. He slowly began reaching his arm up to put around her.

Aang frowned and couldn't take it, he muttered, "Katara," The girl turned her head to him and only had a split second to tilt her head in wonder as he quickly cupped her face in his hands and pulled her into a loving kiss. They held it for a few seconds, leaving Kang-Dae slightly shocked. He pouted a scooted a little bit away from the couple, now knowing that him and Katara would never have any sort of future.

Aang smirked against Katara's lips and pulled away, a goofy smile on his face. Katara laughed, placing her dark skinned hand behind her neck, she asked, "What was that for?"

Aang smiled and looked at Kang-Dae's pouting face, laughing, "Nothing. I'm just glad you're with me."

Katara smiled and kissed his cheek. Sokka, who watched their whole kissing ordeal, glared at Aang. Aang noticed and blushed, silently apologizing with his eyes.

In the end, everyone ordered the white cake with strawberry filling that Kang-Dae suggested. They all took a slice and dreamily ate it. Afterwards, the group took off again and headed back towards the palace. They walked through a large, non-elegant hallway and heard the sound of horses neighing in a room near them.

The gaang looked into the room and saw four dragon horses munching on hay, they smiled at the creatures and Kang-Dae stopped to show them to the group. He walked in and patted one of the creature's backs. The animal turned to him and neighed, a puff of smoke coming from it's nostrils. The smoke flew into Kang-Dae's face, and he swated at the air around him to make it go away. The gaang slightly laughed, but recomposed themselves and watched as the prince jumped onto it's back.

"These are the dragon-horses you had seen earlier," He said from atop the horse's back. He patted the horses head and turned to the gaang, his hands grasping the reigns at either side of the animal's neck.

Still holding onto the horse's reigns, he moved his hands up to cover it's ears, starting to speak. There are different commands that will make a dragon-horse do what you want it too. For example: They fly when you say 'Hae'. Observe." He uncovered the horse's ears and shouted, "Hae!"

The horse stomped it's hoof, but then jumped into the air hovering there as Kang-Dae controlled it, making it fly in a circle, then landing it down, "See?" He said.

The orphans laughed, clapping happily. The older kids smiled as well, clapping.

"Then," He continued, "If you want to make it walk, say- Aruku!," The horse jolted forward slightly before taking to a nice walk in a circle, "And you can just guide it around however you please," He smiled, demonstrating.

"What if you want it to run?" Suki asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh, then you just say kouro," Kang-Dae answered. Suddenly, the horse jolted and began running around crazily, catching him off-guard. He swiftly grabbed for the reigns and reared the horse back, waiting for him to stop. He sighed angrily, getting off the animal and walking back to the gaang.

"He's our younger dragon-horse," He turned to it, "Still needs some training I see."

The group replied with 'yeah' and started walking down the hallway again to get to the throne room.

On the way, Katara spotted the little girl from earlier, who spilt the water, walking down the hallway towards them, tears in her eyes as she carried two very heavy-looking bags of rice. She looked at the girl with concern and without everyone else knowing, she ran up to the girl as she passed and said, "I can take one of those if you want."

The girl looked at her in shock and said, "No, no! You don't have to do this…this is part of my punishment, plus, it isn't your job…"

"Well…you just look like you're struggling…"

"Maybe…but I can get it…" The girl responded, painfully continuing to walk down the hallway. Katara looked at her as she walked and saw the girl's neck. She saw about a two inch long one inch wide mark there, and it appeared to be bleeding. She quickly turned to her friends, who hadn't noticed she left, and back to the girl, rushing over to her and grabbing the bags from her.

"Those are mine, miss…I have to deliver them…" The girl had tears in her eyes and her voice was cracking with pain.

"I don't care about it, let me get them, okay? What happened to your neck?" Katara waited for an answer, clear concern in her eyes as she looked at the girl reach back for her neck, to find what was showing. She felt the nasty mark and gasped.

"It's nothing, don't worry…"

"I'm worrying, here, I have healing abilities, I could heal it for you," Katara smiled her and she looked up with wonder.

"You do?"

"Yes, now let's see what happened." Katara said, pointing to the girl's back.

She drew her water out of her waterskin and rolled the back of the girl's shirt up only enough to show the wound. She gasped at what she saw.

"Did they whip you!" Katara asked in shock, turning the girl to face her.

The eight year old sighed and looked at her feet, "Yes…that is the punishment for bad behavior."

Katara looked at the girl sadly and wide-eyed, she proceeded to place the water to the girl's back, noticing that she winced. She saw the bloody cuts fade to pink welts on her back as the healing took place. The little girl sighed with happiness when it was over and her back was almost completely healed.

Katara rolled the girl's shirt back down and turned her to face her, "I'm sorry, that's all I could get healed right now, the rest will have to heal on it's own," She looked sadly at the girl, noticing that she was smiling.

"That's fine," The girl grinned widely, "I feel so much better now. Thank you, Miss."

Katara smiled as the girl hugged her and grabbed the bags she had been carrying, she ran quickly down the hallway as if they weighed nothing and laughed on the way. Katara stood up and turned just in time to see Kang Dae walking angrily towards her.

"Why did you do that?"

"What? Heal her?"

"Yes! Heal her." Kang Dae fumed, "That whipping was the girl's punishment, why would you relieve her of it?"

"Because!" Katara angrily responded, "She was given that punishment because she accidentally tripped! Also, that is no way to treat a child!" Aang started walking up to Katara as the others stared at them as they fought.

"And the way you are treating me is in no way how you treat a prince!" The argument continued, but Aang cut through it-

"Guys! So what if Katara healed that girl, whippings are cruel and painful! We should just continue the tour! It okay if one girl gets to be relieved from her punishment!"

The two stared at her and Kang Dae muttered, "Fine."

They continued down the hallway until they reached the throne room where they saw the king drinking some tea. Kang-Dae sat down at his father's right and motioned for the gaang to sit in the seats presented before them. They sat and watched as the prince stood and walked in front of them.

He began to speak, "There is one last important thing we have to tell you about. Then we expect to hear a lot about your culture." He slightly smiled and called over to the guards, to have them help him demonstrate something.

"There are three ways to energy bend: Energy Stealing, Healing, and just plain Energy Bending," He began, walking towards the first guard. "First, Energy Stealing is the easiest to perform. You place your hands on your victim's forehead and heart and concentrate, looking for their chi paths. Once you find the chi path, focus the energy up through your hands and into your own body. This will give you their power." He placed his hands on the guards chest and forehead, "Like this."

In a few moments, the room was filled with bright orange and purple colors. The purple light emitting from Kang Dae traveled up the man's body and engulfed him. Kang Dae pulled back, obviously worn out, and preformed a complex waterbending move that only the guard had known how to do. Aang looked up at the king and saw him looking strangely into a book. Aang, now confused, looked back at Kang-Dae.

"Now this man has no more bending, it has been stolen by me, but now I will give it back."

Aang questioned, "You can give back bending?"

"Yes, but it is much harder. You have to grasp the energy you stole from your body and focus _only _it into their body. It takes a lot of concentration," Kang-Dae replied.

He got into the same position and after about five minutes he was able to give the man his ending back. The gaang clapped as Kang-Dae bowed, obviously very tired.

"Now," He breathed, "I will demonstrate with this guard –sigh–how to heal with energy bending…"

"Wait!" The deep booming voice of the king sounded.

"Yes, Father?" Kang-Dae asked.

"You…Bald boy, with the tattoos," He said, pointing towards Aang. Everyone looked at Aang.

"I have just read here that airbenders receive those tattoos when they become master airbenders," He glared at Aang, "Are _you _an airbender?"

Aang smiled, "Yep. I am one."

Kang-Dae gasped and looked at his father in shock, the king continued, "The last airbender our people have seen was the Avatar. Are you the Avatar?"

Aang looked to his friends hesitantly before saying, "Yeaahh."

The king and prince angrily looked at them, wide-eyed, "SEIZE THEM!" They shouted to the guards, "THEY ARE THE ONES WHO BANISHED US! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!"

Aang reeled back in surprise, as well as the rest of his gaang.

"That may have not been the best thing to say, Aang," Sokka shouted in a slightly scared voice as he saw the men approaching them with spears and swords. Kang-Dae angrily ran towards them, his large sword glimmering in his hand.

"Run!" Aang shouted as he made a dust cloud for cover around his friends. They ran past everyone and into the hallway leading to the dragon horse stables. They rushed in and mounted the animals, holding onto the reigns. Katara had gotten on one with Aang. Usagi, Noboru, and Buyou got on one, and Sokka went on another with Toph and Suki.

Aang hesitantly grabbed tighter onto the reigns and asked, "Does anyone remember how t-,"

"Kouro!" Buyou shouted joyfully, managing to get his horse to swiftly start running down a hallway, leading outside.

Aang and Sokka looked wide-eyed at them as they sped off and joined them by yelling, "Kouro!" as well.

They all made it outside, the shouts of men behind them as they rode off onto a balcony. Then everyone in the gaang's hearts momentarily stopped breathing as they realized they didn't remember how to make them fly.

The horses stopped abruptly on the edge of the balcony, rearing back to avoid falling. The men appeared out of the darkness and charged after them with swords. They started bending earth and fire at them and Aang made a shield of air around them.

Sokka angrily grunted, "Oh, come on! Hey!"

His heart stopped again as he found his horse jumping off the edge and spreading out it's wings. It began to soar forwards and he laughed with joy. "It thought I meant _HAE, _not hey! Haha!"

Aang and everyone else smiled and shouted, "Hae!" laughing.

After flying for about ten seconds, Aang spotted Appa in a stable on the ground, he dove down and took out his bison whistle, blowing hard on it to get the bison's attention. Appa's ears twitched and his eyes opened as he heard it. He stood up and jumped into the air, meeting everyone in the sky.

Aang thought about jumping off the horses and onto Appa but then thought about how cool it would be if they brought back a dragon-horse. He grinned and led everyone to the entrance of the ice dome. They quickly burst through the thick ice gate, breaking into a large ice hallway and finally breaking through a thinner wall of ice leading to the whirlpool.

For the third time, Aang found himself in the position of having the water of this whirlpool crash down on him. He closed his eyes and pressed his hands together, earning a quick flash of the Avatar State to give him energy. He spun a large sphere of water around everyone for the third time in his life, guiding it to the surface and breaking into the sky. Everyone sighed with relief as they made it outside, breathing in the fresh air of the sky and noticing that their ears began to unpop.

The horses seemed antsy about being in a new world but they adjusted.

Soon, everyone made it to the Fire Nation where they greeted Zuko. They showed him the dragon horses and they completely matched up to the one they stuffed. Hours later, Aang looked into the sky and saw a strange bird with a scaly body with few long feathers on it's wings. He looked at it awkwardly as in hovered infront of him, holding a scroll in one of it's feet, holding it out to him. Aang took it and Katara ran over as he read-

_Avatar,_

_We have finally hit a turning point in our lives. You have returned to us for another battle and we accept. We will return to the surface in one week. Do not forget. _

_-Prince Kang-Dae Zaolik, Suichuu Shi_

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_AUTHORS NOTE: Okay…once again…SORRRYYYYYY! :'( I feel so bad….._

_Okay, so there were many foreign words in here so here are their meanings._

_**Mitsu- I forget exactly, but it was something like light or heat in an Asian language**_

_**Borvo- I'm pretty sure it was sun…in an Asian language**_

_**Hae- A way of saying fly in Japanese**_

_**Kouro- A way of saying run in Japanese**_

_**Aruku- It means walk in Japanese**_

_**Suichuu Shi- Underwater and City looked up in an English to Japanese Dictionary =D**_

So yeah… I will be working all this week to get a new chapter in by next Sunday, I feel horrible about making you guys wait three months and a day… It will be ten times easier now that I have gotten to the plot line…so yeah… :'(


	11. Chapter 10: Avatar Ryuu

Book 4

Air

Chapter 10:

Avatar Ryuu

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_Avatar,_

_We have finally hit turning point in our lives. You have returned to us for another battle and we accept. We will return to the surface in one week. Do not forget. _

_-Prince Kang-Dae Zaolik, Suichuu Shi_

"They think we want war?" Sokka exclaimed as he ran over to read the message. He grabbed a hold of the scroll and looked at the paper in confusion, trying to make out the words. He looked at it, puzzled.

"How can you read this, Aang?" He tilted it to the side, squinting his eyes, "It's really old writing."

Aang looked at Sokka with confusion as well, "You can't read it?"

"No."

Aang looked down in thought, but then smiled and looked back up to face Sokka, "Oh. It must be because while I was training to be a monk, we were to learn the writing of old and new. This writing is ancient." He grabbed the scroll and looked it over, showing Sokka it as he re-read it.

"It says that they want us back in a week to fight them…" Aang said fearfully, he rolled the scroll back up with a sigh, "We just got out of a war…And we've started another one." He walked over to the railing of the balcony the gaang was on, resting his arms nervously on the top. Katara walked up behind him and slid her arm around him comfortingly.

"Well…That's not so bad!" Sokka exclaimed, "We beat Ozai fairly easily, these guys can't be any worse! All we have to do is march up to them and rough them up Team Avatar style!"

Aang scowled and turned to Sokka, "That fight was _not _easy. I almost got myself killed."

"But you didn't. You went into the Avatar State and mastered it didn't you? If you use it when we go next week we could beat them in no time!" Sokka laughed.

"Yeah. Because I _certainly _want to use the Avatar State to kill people," Aang said sarcastically, then serious, "I don't want to kill anyone!"

Sokka patted Aang's shoulder with a laugh, "I never said you had to kill anyone."

Aang pulled away, causing Katara's grip to release as well as Sokka's, "That's what the Avatar State does! Very rarely would it cause a surge of power unable to kill a person. See?" He backed up farther from them and forced his hands together hard, furrowing his brow and closing his eyes. In a single flash of his eyes and tattoos, he gathered the energy from his past lives and spun around, spinning an inferno of fiery bursts into the sky into a giant ball of flames. Seconds later, the ball exploded and Aang pulled back, "Do you think anyone could survive that?" Calming down, the monk started looking sadly at the ground. He mumbled, "That's the Avatar State. I don't want to use it to kill anyone…"

He slowly walked to the edge of the balcony and jumped off with his staff, flying off over to the small meditation room that the Fire Nation Palace owned. Katara ran over to stop him but was to late, she looked at him sadly as he flew and instantly wished to comfort him.

"I'm going to go after him," She walked past everyone and as she passed Sokka, she said, "He doesn't like the fact that he can end a person's life with a single blow, please stop bringing it up." Katara smiled at him, trying to show him that she wasn't mad, and he smiled back slightly.

Katara ran down the stairs to get to the meditation room Aang went to.

She finally reached to circular room and pushed open and closed the heavy door, finding Aang in a lotus position in the center on a small cushion. He was sweating and his shirt was off. Katara looked at the boy in wonder and confusion, putting her hand to his forehead. Aang snapped out of his meditation and jumped back at her touch, forming a stance that face her, ready to attack.

Katara looked shocked when she saw him ready to strike, but Aang realized who she was and calmed down, lowering his arms and smiling tiredly at her.

Katara shook it off and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just trying to contact Avatar Ryuu…"

"Why do you want to contact him?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"He was the first Avatar. He was the guy who was able to stop the Energybenders and banish them to the sea. If I am able to contact him, he could tell me how to stop them," Aang sighed, bringing his right hand to his head, "But it takes up so much energy trying to contact one…take that times one thousand and I'll finally reach Avatar Ryuu…"

Katara stood up and smiled, "I'm sure you can do it."

Aang smiled back, saying, "Thank you, Katara," before sitting down in his lotus position. Katara stood there watching as he concentrated for a little while before returning to Sokka and the others. They had gone off to do their own things. Katara found Sokka sitting in the library looking at a book and the scroll from the Energy Benders.

Sokka noticed her and looked up at her, "I am trying to find out how to read ancient writing like this. If Aang could do it as a boy, I can do it as a teen."

Katara smiled at him and told him about Aang, "He's down in the meditation room trying to contact the first Avatar, Avatar Ryuu, for guidance." Katara noticed the others coming in to look around.

Sokka nodded but then asked, "He's not mad at me still, is he?"

"I don't know why he would be…" Katara said quietly.

Sokka shrugged, "He seemed mad at me before I left."

Katara also shrugged, "Like I said, he doesn't like having the power to kill a person if he wanted to," her face softened and she finished, "He never asked for this… I'm sure he isn't mad. Just don't bring it up again unless it's necessary."

Sokka nodded in agreement.

Slightly changing the subject, Katara announced, "I'm going to bring Aang a snack, anyone else want anything?" She looked around.

She sighed as she saw the whole room's hands go up.

She looked down slightly annoyed, saying, "Okay," before walking down to the kitchen to bring everyone a snack.

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OoO

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After handing out snacks of fruit and pastries to everyone, she walked down to give Aang his snack and a cup of tea with Suki. They entered the meditation room only to find Aang unconscious on the ground. Their eyes widened and they quickly placed Aang's snacks on the floor. Katara and Suki rushed to him and Katara carefully cradled him in her arms.

"Aang?" Katara asked his unconscious form, "Aang…Are you okay?" Tears of worry stung the edges of her eyes.

Aang groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He saw Katara next to him holding him and smiled slightly, he reached his hand up to his head, "I must've…passed out…or something…"

"Do you know what happened?" Katara asked, standing up to help him up. Suki helped him up as well.

After standing, Aang told them, "I was…trying to contact the past Avatars but it…hurts my head a lot."

Katara placed her hand to his head and reached her other out to grab his bowl of fruit. She handed it to him and Suki gave him his tea. Aang smiled and thanked them.

Katara felt that his head was hot and she frowned slightly. "Aang."

Aang turned to face her, "Yeah?" He smiled, his eyes showing that he felt worn out.

The waterbender looked at him worriedly, but smiled, "How about you go and take a nap, you look tired…" Aang looked at her strangely.

"Katara, I feel fine, I might be a little worn out, but I'm fine," He explained, though he truthfully did want to sleep.

"Aang. Please?" Katara insisted, Suki nodded in agreement.

Aang, sensing the worry in her eyes, finally agreed to go take a nap to rest his head. Katara and Suki followed him up to see that he was comfortable.

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OoO

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Zuko took a bite out of his apple as he scanned over the note given by the Energybenders. He looked back and forth between it and a dictionary of olden times. He squinted his eyes in confusion at them.

Mai walked up behind him and asked, "Do you ever stop working?" She smirked.

The new firelord turned towards her with a grin, "Not really."

"Take a break."

"Well. I can't. I have to figure out a small army we can take to fight these people and stop them so that they don't make us begin another world war," He turned away to walk over to some files on soldiers who survived the war.

"Ugh. Another fight. We hardly had any time to relax," Mai grunted, sitting down and resting her arms on the table, looking annoyed.

Zuko smiled and set down his books, walking behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders in a soft gesture. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Also, once it's all over, we should be free to spend more time together."

Mai turned and gave her small smile to him, leaning towards him to kiss him.

He gladly obliged.

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OoO

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Katara and Suki had followed Aang to his room to assure that he was comfortable. Aang sleepily walked into the room, yawning as he climbed onto the bed, lying down and resting his head on the soft pillow. Suki grabbed the silk sheets of the bed and brought them up to Aang's shoulders as he closed his eyes. Katara tucked him it and kissed his forehead, smiling down at him.

The sleepy airbender looked back at her with a warm smile as well, shifting slightly to get more comfortable. Katara placed her hand on his shoulder gently, bending over slightly and whispering, "Goodnight, Aang, I love you."

Aang's eyes slowly closed and he answered, "I love you too, Katara,"

Suki smiled at how strong their love was, silently wishing Sokka was more romantic and sweet like Aang. "Goodnight, Aang,"

"G'night" Aang responded in barely a whisper. Katara smiled at him once more before looking over at Suki and silently motioning to keep quiet with her finger.

They walked out of Aang's room and gently closed the door, both smiling. Suki looked over at Katara, with a slight jealous expression on her face. Katara also looked at Suki, but a look of confusion struck her features.

"What's wrong, Suki?" Katara asked, walking closer to the older girl.

"Oh, it's really nothing," Suki responded, getting an embarrassed smile on her face, she shrugged, "You and Aang are just so adorable together. You tell each other you love each other I think every day! Also, you're always kissing each other. I'm just sorta jealous."

Katara blushed and laughed, "That's just how Aang is. He's had a crush on me since we met, also, he's just innocent, so he's a more gentle and caring type." Suki looked down, Katara noticed, "Isn't Sokka romantic? I see you guys kiss a lot."

Suki grinned, "Yeah, he is, and yes we do, but… He's just not like Aang, I wish he was…But I love him all the same."

Katara smiled, "And he loves you too,"

Suki continued smiling, "Yeah."

After the small conversation, the two continued back to their other friends.

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OoO

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"Come on, Zuko, let's go take a walk or something, I'm bored."

Mai had tolerated Zuko working for another thirty minutes before the annoyingness of boredom overtook her. She would do anything to get rid of the boring feeling inside of her.

"But if we don't get this army put together, we might not win this battle," Zuko answered, not looking up from his papers, "And I can't let that happen. We just got out of one war alive. All our work would be put to shame if we lose."

"Can't you send those messenger hawks later?" Mai groaned, leaning back in the comfy lounge chair that had been in the room, closing her eyes.

"Well. I guess I could…"

"Good. Do that. Let's go on a walk, see a play, go out to eat. _Something,_" Mai continued, her eyes still shut.

Zuko chuckled, "Okay, fine. I'll go. Let's take a walk." He walked up to the raven-haired girl and held his hand out to pull her up. The girl opened her eyes and smiled, grabbing the hand in front of her and standing up to go on a walk with the Firelord.

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OoO

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"Okay! This is Little Warrior 101, Little Children!" Sokka shouted, his newfound sword shining in the sun as he kept it sticking into the air proudly. Suki watched from afar, lounging in the sun.

"Little?" Noboru questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah! Little? We're big kids now, not little!" Buyou joined it, grinning widely.

"You're little in my case," Sokka laughed, pulling out his sword, "Okay, so, today I am going to be teaching you guys how to fight with a sword. That way, when we are in battle in a week, you guys will be able to fight!"

"But we don't have swords, Sokka, sir," Usagi noted quietly, looking around as if to find swords somewhere. Toph laughed and walked over to the small girl.

"Uh-uhh, you're comin' with me. We're earthbenders! We have no need for pointy little sticks," Toph teased, sticking her tongue out at the water tribe warrior.

Sokka frowned and turned back to the little boys, "Anyways, you guys will be learning how to fight with swords, so, pick up those sticks over there," he pointed to a small pile of arm-length sticks, shaven of their bark.

Noboru and Buyou ran over to the pile and each grabbed one, they ran back to Sokka with smiles on their faces and watched as Sokka demonstrated to them a move. He showed them a proper stance to use while sword fighting and ran towards a nearby tree, using both hands to stab the blade into the tree and draw back on one foot, keeping his balance as he skillfully spun his blade back into it's sheath.

The boys stared wide-eyed at the older warrior and stuttered, "You expect us to do that?"

Sokka looked over at the tree he had stabbed, and back to his hand, realizing the higher level of complexity the move was. He sighed.

Toph walked over and laughed, "Maybe you should teach your 'students' easier moves, then they can make their way up to a higher level."

Sokka grunted, "Yeah…," then in a lighter mood, "Okay then, I will show you stances first, and then we'll make our way up to strikes!" He bent his knees slightly and pulled out his sword in his right hand, he brought both hands up towards the right but kept his left hand facing his right arm flat. He poised the sword towards in front of him and glanced towards the kids.

They stared blankly at him. Sokka smiled and said, "Try this stance."

"Oh, okay!" The boys replied, attempting to take the stance Sokka had made.

Sokka looked over at them and their failed attempts with a sigh, '_This is gonna take awhile…'_

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OoO

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Aang woke up with a gasp, tossing aside his blankets and hurtling himself from the bed to the door. He flung it open and dashed down the hall. He knew what to do now. It came suddenly to him in a dream. Katara would be able to help him.

He ran as fast as he could and eventually made it into sight of Katara. Unfortunately for her though, he didn't see her in time and knocked her to the ground, trying to stop. Katara looked up, eyes wide, before she started laughing.

"Someone's in a rush," she giggled, grabbing for Aang's extended arm. The monk pulled her up, and she continued, "What's up?"

Aang smiled, "I had a dream, but I can't really remember it right now. All I can remember is that it told me how you could help me contact Avatar Ryuu and get his advice. Would you be willing to?"

Katara finished brushing herself off and looked up at the boy with a smile, "Sure, Aang, how can I help?"

Aang smiled his trademark grin and grabbed her hand, "I'll tell you when we get to the meditation room, do you have your water pouch?"

Katara patted her waterskin and looked at him again, "Yep. All full."

"Great! Now come on!" He smiled, leading her down to the meditation room.

When they got there, Aang sat down in the center of the room and crossed his legs into the lotus position, smiling as Katara sat down in front of him.

"Okay," Aang began, looking at the girl before him, "What I want you to do is, while I am meditating, use your healing on my head to make sure that headache doesn't come back. The headache was the only reason I couldn't make it to Avatar Ryuu, the pain just became to intense to go back that far into my mind."

"So," He continued, "If you do that, I might be able to make it far enough into my mind to speak with him."

Katara smiled, "I think that could actually work! Here," She said, walking on her knees over to the back of him, drawing out the water from her pouch and placing it on either side of his head, near his ears," She looked down at him questionably, "Like this?"

"Perfect." He answered with a grin, holding his hands together in fists, making the arrows on his hands point towards one another.

Katara adjusted her position so that she was more comfortable and soon the room was quiet as Aang meditated. Moments later, with a sudden glow, Aang had reached the spirit world.

Katara crawled slightly around, her hands not moving, to see his face. It looked peaceful for the most part, but there was slight pain in his closed eyes. She frowned sadly, wishing that her healing would take all the pain away from him. She pulled back, concentrating more of her power into the water, healing his headache even more so.

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OoO

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_Avatar upon Avatar passed by, quicker than they had before, as if the young monk was flying by them. Soon the pressure began to build in his head and colors filled the spirit world sky. _

_Aang blinked his eyes, adjusting to the new pressure, and continued flying by the Avatar's faces. Men and women both gusted by, all of their eyes glowing, and for the airbenders, tattoos as well. _

_He could still feel the cold refreshing feeling of Katara's healing on his head. He smiled, the speed of his travel slowing. The pain built up, but it was not unbearable. The boy never knew how hard it could be to look inside your mind. _

_Suddenly, the monk looked forward, seeing the end of the line of Avatar's. _

"_Finally," He breathed, gritting his teeth against the headache he was receiving. _

_His speed decreased to a walking speed as the pressure held him back. He fought it though. He had to meet this man to know how to defeat the Energybenders. _

_He finally made it to Avatar Ryuu, staring at the tall man before him. His eyes were glowing but he had an expressionless face. Aang stared at him in wonder, trying to think of what to do now. He reached out his arm to wave his hand in front of Ryuu's face when suddenly the light from his eyes burst out and engulfed everything around the two. _

_Suddenly, the two Avatars stood in the middle of a large hilly meadow. The sky was a bright blue and clouds rolled across it, bringing a sense of serenity to the place. Strange fox-like creatures ran in a large pack across the field, chasing and playing with another. The younger Avatar looked again into the sky to see a large group of dragon-horses racing each other. He looked all around him and saw that a lush forest surrounded the large meadow, filled with all sorts of animals. To the right, though, there was a small village filled with people of all types. There were children playing and adults working in a garden. The village seemed happy._

_Aang was shaken out of his thoughts as he heard a deep voice came from the direction of the older Avatar in front of him, "Avatar Aang, you have come a long way to reach me. It takes much strength, even for an Avatar, to come this far back in time."_

_Aang smiled as he continued, "My name is Avatar Ryuu, I am the first Avatar, I started the eternal line of the incarnations you have passed. Now, may I ask, why is it that you have come to me?"_

_Aang continued smiling as he bowed respectfully to him, "Avatar Ryuu, it is an honor to be in your presence," Avatar Ryuu bowed as well with a smile, "I have come to you because I have accidentally caused a battle to form with the Energybenders…"_

"_I need your advice…" He concluded, closing his eyes sadly._

"_The Energybenders!" Ryuu exclaimed, eyes wide, "I banished them thousands upon thousands of years ago! Why have they returned!" _

"_Well, sir," Aang started, looking down shamefully, "Strange lights have been coming from out of the ocean, these lights came from a certain spot, one that we now know is the site of the Energybenders. We went to their city and they found out that I am an airbender. They said that you were the last person they knew who could bend air, so they asked me if I was the Avatar. I stupidly said yes to them and they charged. Now they have declared war on us in a week…"_

_Ryuu looked down in concentration, "Well, young Avatar…I can teach you what you must do, but I'm afraid you cannot stay with me long enough for me to train you."_

_Aang bowed once more, "Thank you, Avatar Ryuu, just tell me what I must do and I will do it."_

"_Well. You must learn every type of bending; that is the only way you can equal your power to the power of the Energybenders. You must remember that they draw their power from everything around them with energy, plants, animals, people, the sun, anything. This means that in addition to water, earth, fire, and air, you must learn bloodbending, metalbending, lightning bending, and healing," The first Avatar responded, his face serious. _

"_You must learn anything that could catch them off guard, anything and everything you can." He continued. Aang noticed that the surroundings of the area were being blurred, and his voice began drifting off. _

"_But, be warned, you mustn't-," He began warning, "All-...mus'...-'rn-,"_

_Aang looked at him strangely, "Avatar Ryuu, I can't hear you very well," _

_The meadow blurred more, the colors fading from it as he spoke to him; he suddenly felt a gush of wind on his face. The wind picked up speed and force, almost knocking him to the blurry white ground. Aang suddenly felt his feet being lived off the ground and swept backwards, pulling him up into the sky. He looked down at the meadow, only to see it completely vanish as a line of Avatar's took it's place. He spun down the line quickly, all pain from his head vanishing. _

_It was suddenly very cold to him, he felt uncomfortable and dizzy. _

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OoO

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Aang quickly opened his eyes to see Sokka standing in front of him with a bucket that previously held a bucket of ice water. He glared at the older boy in annoyance and felt warm hands pull away from his head. He missed the warmth.

Sokka held out his hand for the monk and pulled him up. He smiled and said, "Zuko told us earlier that he wanted us to meet him later to discuss who will be coming to the battle with us. It's later now, let's go."

"I was trying to speak with Avatar Ryuu. He was about to give me a warning about something, but I'm sure it's nothing important," Aang shrugged grabbing Katara's hand and walking with the siblings and Toph to Zuko's room.

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OoO

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After their small walk around the palace, Zuko and Mai walked up to Zuko's room to finish clearing up who would be in the battle. Mai smiled and walked up to Zuko, "See? A walk wasn't so bad."

Zuko sighed, but smiled, "Yeah, it was fun, I like spending time with you."

Mai blushed and said, "I like spending time with you too, Zuko,"

Somehow, the small conversation of theirs turned into a small kissing spree as they found themselves wrapped in each other's arms, faces close to each other and loving gazes in their eyes.

The moment was ruined though as Sokka, Katara, and Aang walked in, shocked at the awkward time they walked in. Zuko and Mai's faces both turned red and they pulled away from eachother.

Zuko coughed it off and stuttered, "Well –ahem- I umm, the people we have decided to invite are the Southern Water Tribe warriors, the Kyoshi Warriors, the swamp benders, and a few dozen Fire Nation soldiers."

"What about the Earth Kingdom soldiers?" Toph asked, crossing her hands over her chest.

"Well, I just figured that the soldiers wouldn't want to go to war, seeing as it's finally over for them, they can live happy lives now," Zuko replied as Suki walked into the room to join them.

They all continued to talk about the people joining the battle until Zuko asked Aang, "Did you get a hold of Avatar Ryuu?"

Aang looked up and smiled, "Actually, yeah, I did."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that since the Energybenders are so powerful, I must learn every version of bending there is, that means healing, bloodbending, metal bending, controlling lightning, all of that," The gaang stared at him, and he replied with, "What?"

"You have less than a week to train for this and he expects you to master all of those techniques?" Katara exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Well, maybe not master, but just learn and be able to use," Aang said, shrugging, "I'm sure I'll be fine."

The gaang was still unsure about everything but they agreed to help him, then Zuko said, "Well, if you need to learn how to control lightning, I am not the person. Let's go to Uncle Iroh. He tried to teach me once, but it didn't work, though it may work with you,"

Aang smiled in agreement, as well as the rest of the gaang.

"So it's settled now, off to Iroh's house."

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_Sorry it was short! I'm leaving for a camp in just about 4 ½ hours and I really need to sleep now, but I just had to finish before I left, so sorry about the length! The next one will be longer! _

_:/_

_Sorry, lol, for the time it took to write this too… :'(_


	12. Chapter 11: Preparations

**My Author's Note: I am probably the jerkiest, most dumb, pathetic, procrastinating author on all of fanfiction. I am such an idiot… -.-' And for what…the millionth time…I'm so sorry… :'(**

**...At least the chapter's long...ish...**

**I am also sorry (one million and one) for any spelling or grammar mistakes you may find, I didn't have time to spell check when I finished this because I want to get this out as soon as possible, and I have to write this author's note, lol.**

**But…I have had the next two chapters planned out since before I even began typing this story. So, this won't be one of those, "Oh, it'll be out in one-two weeks" but I don't get it out for 2 months things….It WILL be one-two weeks. And you can all computer slap me if I don't….Here's the story….sorry…(one million and two)**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 11:

_Preparations_

After a day of traveling, the gaang finally arrived at Uncle Iroh's tea shop, arriving at the crack of dawn that morning. Two days had passed since they had received the war letter from Prince Kang-Dae of the Energybenders.

The kids quickly jumped off of Appa, in a rush to meet up with the wise old man.

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted into the building as he ran in, looking for Iroh. He was met with the sight of Iroh in an intense overnight game of Pai-Sho with some other old members of Ba Sing Se. Zuko watched in annoyance as he saw the old man cheer with delight as he most likely won the comlex game.

"Haha! Another twenty gold pieces for me!" He snuck his arm onto the table and slid the shiny coins across it and into a large bag that appeared to be filled with the golden money. He turned to meet the eyes of his nephew, "Oh, Zuko, nice to see you! What brings you here?"

Zuko walked up to him, the others following suit as the firelord began to explain, "It's kind of a long story, but basically, to sum it all up, we've accidentally started a war with the Energybenders."

Iroh bowed to his friends and they bowed back, standing and leaving the room. He turned back to face the gaang. "Energybenders? What do you mean?"

"The Energybenders were, um, well, **are** a group of people who live on the floor of the ocean near the Fire Nation," Aang began, walking closer to Iroh to explain, "They have been living there for thousands of years. They were the first people on the planet. Instead of bending the elements like we do now, they bent the energy within each other. Now they bend both the elements and the energy within eachother."

"Okay, but how did you start a war with them? What did you do to gain their hatred?" Iroh asked, raising his arms up in questioning.

Sokka began talking this time, "The Energybender guys apparently were banished by the Avatar and his army of element benders. So, when he figured out Aang was the Avatar, he assumed for some reason that all Avatars are out to get them so he attacked. Then we stole their flying dragon-horse things and got away."

"I see. Well, this doesn't seem too pleasant. What can I do to help?" A smile formed on the old man's face.

Aang smiled as well, "I was able to contact the first Avatar in existence and find out how he defeated the Energybenders in the first place. He told me I needed to learn all types of bending, and that includes lightning bending. Since Zuko doesn't know how to create lightning, and you do, I was hoping you could teach me."

"Well, I assume my nephew has already taught you how to re-direct lightning," Iroh said, Aang nodded in reply, "So you will probably catch on quickly if you **are **able to create lightning. I accept. I will be your lightning bending master," The old man chuckled at the strange name and bowed to the young Avatar.

Aang bowed in response, a smile on his face.

As the two stood up, Katara walked up to Aang and smiled saying, "And then I'll teach you how to heal, that could really come in handy in battle." Aang smiled at her.

"That would be great!" He grinned.

"And I probably could get a heap of metal somewhere in the city so we can work on your metal bending with me," Toph piped in from the background.

"Yeah!" Aang was glad his friends were so willing to teach him what they knew.

The rest of the gaang continued telling Aang their skills they would teach him and Aang smiled brighter and brighter. Then Iroh asked, "So, how long do you have to do this?"

Aang's joy dropped. "Oh…I have a little less than one week, considering we got the note two days ago…So five days…."

"FIVE DAYS?" Everyone exclaimed. It only hit them then how short of time they had.

Sokka was in front of Aang in a flash, getting in his face as he yelled, "You mean to say that you only have ONE WEEK to learn all of these things?"

"Unfortunately so…"Aang replied, looking down at the floor beneath him. He sighed, but then brought his head back up with a questioning look, "Is this seriously only coming to you now? I thought you all knew I only had these few days…"

Sokka continued, "Well, one week seems longer than five days, Aang-,"

"It is, Sokka," Katara interrupted, an annoyed tone in her voice.

Sokka, looking down at the floor angrilly, yelled, "Shhh!" before continuing to Aang, saying, "It's just that a week sounds a lot bigger than five days for some reason…"

"Well, we'd better get started then," Iroh cut in, a smile on his face.

Aang turned to him and smiled, nodding as well, following the old man towards the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

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OoO

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Standing out on the large outer wall of Ba Sing Se, Aang began his lightning training with Iroh.

"Why are we out here on the wall?" Aang asked, his eyebrow raising in curiosity.

Iroh chuckled, "We don't want to shoot anyone by accident, do we?"

Aang laughed in response, "No, I guess not," He walked up to the edge of the wall and looked down, only to meet the remains of the failed attempt at a siege, the drill. He frowned in memory, but laughed it off saying, "Well, Toph and I could probably use some of that metal for our metalbending practice." He smiled and turned back to face Iroh.

"So, what's first?"

Iroh smiled and faced him as well, saying, "I am going to teach this to you like I taught my nephew,"

Aang looked puzzled, "But I thought Zuko couldn't bend lightning? He can only redirect it…"

Iroh closed his eyes, "Yes, he is unfortunately not one of the select few firebenders who can separate the positive and negative energies in their bodies and create lightning. But, I did teach him how. I will repeat what I told him, to you."

Aang looked down at his feet, nodding in reply, "Okay. Let us begin."

"Alright," Iroh said, taking a few steps back from Aang, "Lightning is the purest form of firebending, but its also the deadliest. If you want to create it properly, you must make sure to be in complete balance. One mistake and it could all be over for you."

Aang gulped in fear.

Iroh continued, "To make the lightning within you, you must first separate the positive and negative energies in your body."

Aang smiled, "You mean Yin and Yang, right?"

"Yes," The old man smiled as well, "The way to separate them is by gathering your chi around you, then doing this-," He brought his hands together at the fingertips, taking a deep breath and spreading his arms out. He bent down in a horse stance and dragged the index and middle finger of his right hand across the ground until his hand almost his his left arm. Then, he repeated the same with his left hand. He brought his two hands together in the same position they had been in, pointing towards each other. To finish it, he took a quick deep breath and swiftly extended his right hand out to shoot the lightning out of his finger tips.

The lightning shot across the sky, crackling with every sharp snap.

Aang looked at it in amazement, his mouth widening with awe.

"When dragging your fingers against the ground, it serves as cutting through the chi laid before you. It separates the energy and creates an imbalance in your energy. When the energy comes crashing back together, it forms the power to create lightning," Iroh stared out at the once lightning filled sky, then he turned to Aang, "Are you ready to try it?"

Right before Aang answered, he saw Katara's form in the corner of his eye. He turned to her with a smile, but his expression was happy yet confused at why she was there.

"I just came to make sure you hadn't electrocuted yourself yet," She laughed, but then pulled out a very small familiar bottle that was hidden underneath her shirt, "I actually came to tell you that Pakku and Dad are in the city. They brought me more spirit water from the spirit oasis." She smiled and looked at the tiny bottle, "It'll probably come in handy to have some on me."

Aang returned the smile, "Yeah."

"Good thing is, if you do electrocute yourself, we have water that can save you!" Katara laughed again.

Aang looked at her and laughed, but then gave her a confused look, "Why are you so convinced I'm going to electrocute myself."

Katara looked at him slightly wide-eyed, "Oh, I'm sorry…It's just after…you know…I don't like the idea of you dealing with this stuff…"

Aang understood, "I'll be fine. Don't worry. But you can watch if you want. I'll probably mess up, though," He laughed at the end.

Katara giggled and Iroh said, "Shall we get started, then?"

Aang grinned and agreed, "Yes, we shall."

Katara watched intently, twiddling her thumbs in anticipation, as Iroh said, "Then try as I have instructed."

Aang nodded, "Okay." He took a step back, and turned towards the land outside of Ba Sing Se, then turning his gaze to the sky. He mimicked Iroh's movements, and a few sparks of lightning danced at his fingertips as he dragged his fingers against the ground.

As he attempted to shoot the lightning out into the sky, a large explosion occurred in front of him, and he was thrown back with a yell. He stared at the scorch marks on the ground in shock. "Wh-what just happened?"

Iroh sighed, "I was afraid this would happen. The same thing happened to Zuko. It means you are not in complete balance, so you cannot separate the energy in your body yet. You must become in balance with yourself."

Aang looked down at the ground sadly.

"Are you stressed or upset about anything? That could be the reason for the imbalance," Iroh reasoned, shrugging his shoulders.

Aang looked up at Uncle Iroh, then over to Katara, then said, "I just ended a war and now I'm putting everyone back in danger by starting this war. I don't want to have to fight anymore. I never asked for any of this…"

Katara looked over at him sadly, upset that he had to waste a year of his childhood in war. Iroh looked at him knowingly, "You must overcome this stress, and think of it on a brighter side. After this war is over, you can go back to living in peace for the rest of your days." He smiled.

Aang's stressed face softened, thinking about it in a natural optimistic airbender way, "I guess you're right," he looked over at the sky and smiled, before turning back and taking a deep breath, concentrating his energy in front of him. He looked intently at his arms as his fingertips skimmed the ground, creating the imbalance of energy. He suddenly felt the force surge through him and he quickly pointed the fingers of his hands towards each other, letting the lightning flow within him, but in control. He swiftly shot his right arm out, pointing towards the sky, his eyes closed in fear.

He quickly opened his eyes, though, to see what had happened. He looked up and saw a large crackling burst emerge from his fingertips, the lightning shooting into the sky with a large flare before diminishing.

Aang looked at it in fear and pure amazement. He quickly spun around and looked at Katara and Iroh, "I did it!" He yelled, his arms flying into the air in joy.

Katara smiled brightly at him, "Good job, Aang,"

Suddenly Sokka came walking by them, "Hey, Aang, nice job! Also, you have to remind me that I must train you something today!" He raised his arm in the air.

Aang chuckled, "Okay then?"

Sokka laughed, "Yeaahh, that's pretty much it, I'm bored,"

Aang continued to laugh, "Okay, well, I'm kind of in the middle of training so could you possibly leave? I don't want to risk shooting anyone with lightning,"

Sokka's eyes widened, "Ooh, yeah, you're right," He looked over at Katara, glaring slightly, "But why is she staying?"

Aang looked over at Katara as well, but then back to Sokka, "So that if I electrocute myself she can heal me," He smiled.

"Oh, well that makes sense," Sokka agreed, looking down. He looked back up with a smile, "See you guys later!" and walked off.

Aang looked back at Iroh happily, "I'm so happy I did it!"

Iroh smiled as well, "I am glad this worked for you, though you may want to try it a few more times to ensure you have learned it."

"Right," Aang beamed, the natural twinkle in his eye brightening as he ran back to his spot to perform the move again.

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OoO

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Later, after Aang had finally become accustomed to performing the lightning technique, he joined Toph on the ground next to the large drill. She smirked and said, "Okay, Twinkle Toes, listen up!"

Aang chuckled and waited for the instructions.

"To bend metal, you have to think of it as the earth itself. Unlike the earth, though, it is purified. So, I am going to have you punch this wall of metal until you can find the individual shards of earth within it, okay?" Toph continued, putting her hands on her hips.

Aang put is hands into fists and lifted them up, ready to punch the metal wall, "Umm, so just…punch it?"

"Punch it and feel the vibrations of the earth within it," Toph replied, punching the wall in demonstration, and then pulling back, "I will see you in half an hour."

Toph walked away, kicking a rock with her foot until she reached the wall, then propelling herself up on a rock.

Aang sighed and began talking to himself, "I was hoping that when I ended the war I wouldn't have to train so hard anymore," He lazily looked up at the wall and then shifted his gaze to his fist, "Feel the earth within,"

He punched the metal and winced in pain from the impact. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, concentrating only on the earth within it. He had troubles at first but he did find the refined earth inside it. He smiled to himself in happiness, continuing to punch the wall repeatedly.

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OoO

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Katara was walking along the streets of the lower ring of the city. Being around the gangs and other brutish looking men worried her, but the artisans and craftsmen of the area fascinated her. Also, she wanted to be slightly closer to Aang than the upper ring was. Staying here meant that she would be closer to him if he needed something.

She walked up to a nice little art shop near the gates of the city, looking at a large painting of a girl in a garden. She admired it with a smile on her face, until she heard her name mentioned in the crowd behind her.

She turned around and saw Aang coming towards her, his hands pressed tightly to his stomach. She was confused at why he was doing this, but was nonetheless happy to see him. She raised her arms for a hug and he did as well after seeing her. They hugged and Aang pulled back, sticking his fists out for her to see.

Katara looked down at the scratched up knuckles on his hands with concern, she held them gently in her hands and looked up at him, "What happened?"

Aang miserably looked at his sore knuckles, muttering, "Toph made me punch a wall of metal to feel the shards of earth inside. She made me punch it for half an hour. This is what happened,"

"Aww, that must have hurt…Here," she pulled out the water from her waterskin and raised it directly over his cut and bruised knuckles, then she lowered it onto them, healing them. As she healed his small wounds, she said, "The next thing you should learn to do is heal."

Aang smiled and chuckled, "Yeah," and sighed with relief. Katara retracted her hands and drew the water back into her pouch, a smile on her face. "So, did you learn how to metal bend then?"

"No, not yet, but I did learn how to feel the earth inside the metal," Aang said, rubbing his now-healed knuckles.

"Oh?" Katara tilted her head, "Then why are you here, haha, shouldn't you be going as fast as you can to learn these things?"

Aang dropped his shoulders, sulking, "Toph called me a baby for my knuckles hurting and after I complained a bit she let me come to you…"

"Oh…"

Aang continued, "So, I was wondering if you could come back with me in case she makes me hurt my knuckles again or something. Would you?"

Katara smiled knowingly, "Sure,"

The two of them walked back to Toph to continue Aang's metalbending practice.

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OoO

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"I'm glad the rest of my warriors will be joining us," Suki said in a happy voice, smiling and looking over at Sokka, who had just walked in the door, "I'll finally get to fight with them again."

Sokka smiled as well, sitting down on the couch, "That's cool, and they'll probably be a lot better thanks to Ty Lee's chi blocking skills."

"Yeah, I bet so!" Suki grinned, "That'll probably be very useful in the battle. No chi means no bending. Which means no energybending!"

"Yep," Sokka agreed, then he looked down with a smile, "I'm glad the warriors from my tribe will be fighting with us. I'll feel like a real man of my tribe again like I did during the invasion."

Suki looked slightly puzzled, "Oh, I forgot to ask you guys, how did the invasion go? It hasn't been brought up that much since you told me about it on the serpents pass, and I only got a parody of it from that dumb play."

Sokka sighed, "It kinda failed…miserably. Azula knew all along what our plans were," Then he turned to Zuko, "How did Ozai react when Azula told him."

"Apparently he was really annoyed that we were trying to fight back, seeing as though we were the dominant power in the world. So, he just started the preparations to make sure you guys couldn't succeed in defeating him. And it worked," Zuko explained, laying back and wrapping his arm around Mai on the couch of the teashop.

"Oh, well it kinda was embarrassing…" Sokka muttered with a sigh.

The four teens turned to the doorway of the Jasmine Dragon as they heard footsteps coming into the door. They glanced over at the person coming in, Iroh.

"Hey, Uncle, how was training Aang to create lightning? Where is he?" Zuko asked pulling his arm away from Mai gently and standing up.

"Oh, he is doing tremendous. He is now with your friend, Toph, learning to bend metal," Iroh answered, taking a seat in a chair next to the two couches. Zuko sat down once more, his expression surprised.

"He's ALREADY learned lightningbending?"

"Yes, it came pretty quickly to him," Iroh shrugged his shoulders.

"You mean to say that the entire royal family can create lightning…except me," Zuko sulked, his expression dull and annoyed.

"Everything that happens is for a reason you know," Iroh chimed in, trying to brighten the mood.

"Yeah…I guess so…But he's only a child! I should be able to make lightning!" Zuko angrily stood up again, his fists tightening and his eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

"Zuko, calm down," Mai lightly whacked at his leg.

Zuko grumbled and stormed off, mumbling incoherent things on his way outside.

Sokka chuckled, wrapping his am around Suki and saying, "I wonder how tough Toph is being on Aang."

.

OoO

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"DO IT AGAIN, TWINKLETOES!"

Toph yelled after having Aang repeat yet another hard, strenuous, metalbending drill.

Aang grumbled and ran over to another wall of metal, punching the hard surface of it and focusing on the purified earth within it and bending them to his will. He crumpled the wall up like a large sheet of paper with much effort and shot it into the now extremely dented drill. He ran forward and hurtled himself into the air, jumping towards the thick outer shell of the drill and digging his arms into it, using all of his strength to pull a layer apart, Sweat dribbled down his body as the sun beamed down on him.

'_Of course I pick the hottest fall day to train…' _He thought to himself, ripping layer after layer of the thick surface apart until he reached the burning hot inside of the drill. He jumped back through his hole and landed on the ground.

Katara ran up to him worriedly with a cold bucket of water to drink from, Aang took it happily and drank half of it. He stared down at it for a second before splashing the rest of it on himself.

He had long-since lost his shirt, fearing that if he wore it, he would overheat more than he already was. Despite his smelliness, Katara hugged him, saying, "I'm sure you'll be done soon. Then we can all go out for some lunch," she smiled.

He smiled tiredly as well, but said, "Could I take a nap first…?" He looked down at his body and sniffed under his arm, -quickly reeling back-, "And a bath…"

Katara laughed and nodded, "Yeah, and I think everyone could benefit from you taking a bath."

Aang laughed as well, turning back to Toph.

"Okay, Aang, you're going to try bending the metal without touching it now. Try and bend this ball of metal." Toph said, her arms crossed over her chest.

Aang wiped the sweat off of his forehead and looked over at the rather large ball of crumpled metal. He took a stance and stared intently at it. He came up with an idea and smirked to himself.

He closed his eyes and brought his fists together, muttering a small chant to himself. He opened his eyes swiftly and they glowed bright white. He brought his arms back and forcefully pushed them forwards towards the drill.

Metal could be heard scraping against each other as he shoved the drill sideways. It landed on its side and rolled slightly afterwards. Aang exited the Avatar State and smiled to himself, "I think that'll do for now." He walked over to Katara, but spoke to Toph, "I'm takin' a nap."

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OoO

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After Aang had managed to get home despite his tiredness, he took a cold bath, -which was surprisingly relaxing- and a long nap. Katara and Suki woke him up to get him ready for supper since he slept through lunch.

Aang woke up quickly due to his stomach growling so much, he smiled and walked with the two girls to a restaurant in the city.

At the restaurant, Aang's training was discussed and they planned out the rest of his schedule. He was to learn healing the next day and blood bending the next, but Katara wasn't too happy with that idea.

After dinner, everyone went to bed, and Aang prepared for his training the next day.

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OoO

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In the morning, Aang was up early to learn healing with Katara. He ran to her room and knocked on the door to wake her up, he was glad when she opened the door about twenty seconds later.

Aang chuckled when he saw her lazily open the door up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I was –yawn- kind of hoping you would wake me up later…"

Aang grinned, "I'm sorry," He hugged her and she pressed her face into the crook of his neck, just laying there, "I was just happy to get to train with you again,"

"Okay…" She yawned again, nuzzling her face deeper into his shoulder.

Aang chuckled again and held her tighter, about a minute later, he realized he was holding her up. He pulled her back to face him and her head drooped. He laughed quietly and held her close to him again, "Did you fall asleep?"

Katara nodded half asleep and Aang gently picked her up and carried her outside, sitting against the railing of Iroh's shop, holding her in his lap. He stroked her hair and waited until she woke up.

When she did, she was confused as to why she was outside but she shook it off, going happily to the lake with Aang.

They arrived at the lake and Katara drew some water from the lake, holding it front of her, "To make the water have healing properties, you must think of happy or at least positive thoughts, like…Here. I'll think of when my mom first taught me how to cook." Katara smiled to herself.

The water began to glow and Aang smiled at the small glow of the water.

"The pureness of the happy or positive thoughts flows into the water and forms the glow with the healing properties," Katara said, handing the water over to Aang in the air and having him hold it with his own waterbending. He held it and looked at it once before looking at her.

"Now, think of a happy thought and focus the pure energy into the water," Katara smiled and said.

"Okay," He looked down at the water and focused on it, thinking hard about his times with Monk Gyatso. He focused the energy into the water, but it didn't glow.

Aang frowned and the water stayed still and glow-less. Katara frowned slightly as well, "What were you thinking of? Maybe it wasn't a strong enough thought."

Aang looked down sadly, "I was just thinking of the times I spent with Monk Gyasto one hundred years ago. But I guess remembering that just makes me sad, so, I'll think of something different."

Katara nodded and said, "Okay, so, think of something else that makes you happy, and try it make the water glow."

"Okay, I'll try," Aang smiled and thought of the absolute best, most happiest moment of his life.

_I need to ask you something…_

_What?_

_Please…Come closer…_

_What is it?_

_Will you go penquin sledding with me?_

_Uhh…Sure…I guess…_

Aang chuckled at the memory and a warmth filled his heart. The happiest moment of his life was hearing the voice of an angel lift him out of the iceberg. The moment he met Katara.

Without knowing it, Aang had closed his eyes. He opened it and was surprised to see that the water began to shine. His mouth widened in joy.

"You did it!" Katara said, a bright smile on her face.

Aang continued to smile, "Yeah, I did!"

The happy couple continued to drill him on various happy thoughts, but the moment he met Katara was the memory that worked the best. Aang was very happy with his progress and soon it was around noon.

Katara stopped Aang and smiled at him, saying, "I think you've got it. Now lets test it."

Aang raised his eyebrow in curiosity, asking, "What do you mean?"

"This," Katara sayed, her smile fading as she grabbed a small knife from her pocket.

Aang's eyes widened, "What are you going to do with that, Katara?"

"Don't worry, Aang, it's just for the training," She quickly closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip, sliding the knife swiftly across her arm, making a three inch cut.

Katara bit her lip harder, and gripped the cut with her hand, a few tears forming in her eyes. Aang's eyes widened further and he began to worry, "What are you doing!"

"Heal it."

"What?" Aang asked, looking at her strangely for a second.

"Heal it. Like I taught you. Please hurry," Katara said, watching as Aang caught on and took control of a little bit of water. He looked at his girlfriend, much concern and care in his eyes, and tried to focus his happy thought.

"Aang. Please hurry. It's bleeding a lot more than I expected. And it hurts," Katara whimpered slightly, the blood spreading on her arm.

"I-I can't do it," Aang said quickly in fear, "You're hurt. I can't focus on anything but that," He reached out for her and she sighed, partly in small annoyance that he couldn't make the water heal, and that she was in pain.

Katara quickly used her other, non-bleeding hand, to take water and use it to heal herself. She muttered, "Ew," when she tried to wipe off the blood on her arm. She walked to the lake and stuck her arm in, wincing because it stung.

She wiped the remaining blood off and returned to face Aang.

"I'm so sorry, Katara, I really didn't mean to not heal it, I was trying and focusing so hard but I couldn't because I knew you were hurt and that was the only thing on my mind!" Aang said so quickly that Katara could hardly tell what he was saying.

"Shh shhh shhhh," Katara shushed him, a smile on her face, "Don't worry about it, it's over now, I feel no pain, do you want to try again? I'll make the cut less severe this time. I didn't know it would bleed that much."

Aang wiped the few beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead off and solemnly nodded.

Katara smiled slightly and the two continued the procedure until Aang did actually heal her. Katara was very proud of him when he did, but it only happened once. The only reason it had worked because along with his memory of meeting Katara, he was also about to leave with Katara to a small restaurant, so it added to his happiness.

"But, Katara, what if I am not able to heal one of you guys when the battle happens, what if it doesn't work…"

Katara smiled knowingly, "I'm sure you won't need it, we're all pretty strong, and I'm sure that if one of us did get hurt, you'd be able to muster up enough happy thoughts to perform it correctly."

"But…But what if you got hurt, Katara?" Aang said, tears of stress, worry, and fear sparkling up his eyes. He grabbed her hands in his own, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself. It…It would hurt to much…"

Katara leaned over and hugged him, "Nothing's going to happen. We're all going to be fine, Aang."

Aang sighed, knowing that he should be optimistic and believe that no one will get hurt.

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OoO

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The next day, Aang noticed that Katara was hesitant about teaching Aang his next step. Bloodbending.

Multiple times during the morning he asked her when they would start training him to bloodbend, but she kept refusing, telling him that she was busy and how she would train him later.

He finally got her to come outside with him. Taking her by the hand, he pulled her to a small abandoned training ground.

"Katara, I have to learn this technique if I am to defeat the energybenders, please train me," Aang pleaded with her.

She sighed and said, "But…I already feel like a monster wielding this power, I don't want to pass it to you…"

Aang looked at her, his eyes still pleading with her, "I wouldn't want to have this power either, but it might be the only way I'll be able to defeat them. Please, just teach me. I promise to only use it as a last resort."

Katara closed her eyes tightly and tilted her head down in thought. He slowly opened her eyes and met his own. "Fine…"

Aang smiled and hugged her, and despite her annoyedness that she had to teach him this horrible technique, hugged him back. They pulled away and Katara walked up and took a stance that Aang mimicked.

"I'm not sure how I'm going to teach you this," Katara began, lowering her stance slightly, "But I'll try…"

Aang nodded in approval.

"Just…Ummm….Remember when we met Jet for the first time?" Katara asked, trying to figure out how to turn this into a lesson.

"Yep," Aang replied, slightly tilting his head in confusion.

"Remember when we had to first learn how to bend water we couldn't see?"

"Yes."

"This is going to use that same technique. You can't see the…the blood in someone…so you just bend it, knowing the general idea of where it is in the body. Like…if I wanted to bend your arm…I'd control the blood in your arm…" She continued, motioning to his arm.

"Could I see a demonstration?" Aang asked, a small smile on his lips.

"Umm," Katara said with an unsure voice, "Sure…I guess." She looked over at him nervously and lifted her hands again, she sensed the blood in his arm and hesitantly grasped at it.

Aang jerked slightly when he felt the weird sensation in his arm.

"I'm sorry, Aang!" Katara gasped, letting go and quickly putting down her arms.

"No, no it's fine," Aang smiled, looking up at the sky and wiping the sweat from his forehead. Suddenly, he looked confused. He quickly turned to face Katara and said, "I thought you told me once it could only be done during the full moon. It's daytime, and were nowhere near a full moon."

Now it was Katara's turn to look confused. "You're right," She said, looking up at the sky, "I had forgot about that."

She looked down at her hands, "Then how did I…" Then up at the sky, "That makes no sense."

Aang smiled and blushed, "Well, maybe you're just such a good bender that you don't need the full moons energy to perform it…"

Katara smiled as well, "Thanks. I guess so."

"Yeah, I guess just try it again, and don't stop this time, it just scared me for a second," Aang said, holding his arms out for her to bend.

Katara looked at him hesitantly again, wishing that she didn't have to teach him this. Nonetheless, she got into the stance again and held up her arms, grasping onto Aang's blood.

"Woah," Aang muttered as he felt the control in his arm leave him. Katara made his arm reach up and pat his head. She giggled.

Aang laughed as well.

Katara bent his other arm to rub his stomach along with his other arm patting his head. She giggled again and smiled.

Aang chuckled, "Now you're just playing with me."

"Yep."

The couple continued to laugh and Aang proceeded to learn the stances and arm movements that Katara knew.

"Are you ready to try it on me?" Katara asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Aang nodded, "Yes, but only if you want me too."

"Well," Katara began, "You're going to have to do it sometime I guess,"

"Yeah," Aang agreed, taking the stance he had learn.

Katara felt her body lose control of herself, she felt completely numb. Aang lifted his arms slightly and she stiffened up in a straighter position. He grabbed the blood in her arms and pulled them closer to him. He smiled.

"Aang, what are you doing?" Katara asked, looking at him strangely.

Aang grinned and pulled her closer to him.

Katara knew what was going to happen and she smiled too before feeling his lips on hers. They kissed for awhile before Sokka suddenly appeared before them, an annoyed look on his face.

"You can continue that later," He said, crossing his arms over his chest, but then looking happy again, "Anyways, how 'bout I teach you how to use a sword!"

"Umm, Sokka, I'd rather not learn how to stab or cut people, I'd rather find another way than death to end this for them, sorry,"

Sokka's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Well, fine then! I'll just have to come up with something else to teach you…"

He turned around on his heels and stormed off once more as the couple kissed and hugged again.

OoO

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The rest of the day was spent lounging around, that is until Aang was tackled by three small children at his legs.

Aang laughed and pulled them off of his legs, "What are you guys doing?"

"We have come to train you!" They cried, pulling out their various weapons.

Aang continued to laugh, "Train me?"

"Yeah," Buyou shouted, throwing Aang a small pouch filled with darts. Aang caught it and looked at it in wonder, about to ask what it was. Buyou threw him a small bottle that he can attach to his belt as well.

"What is this?" Aang asked, looking at the two pouches strangely.

"The bottle has two compartments in it for pain pincher and paralyzing dart poisons, and the pouch has the actual poison," The small boy smiled, "Just keep them on you and that will be your training,"

"Haha, okay," Aang smiled, looking onto the other kids.

Usagi looked down at her hands confused, "I guess you already no how to earthbend, so I can't really teach you anything…"

Aang laughed and told her that it was fine, looking over to the last child, Noboru. Noboru looked down at his mallet, "Ummm. Here." He handed Aang the large stick and finished, "Go and whack that tree with it."

Aang looked over at the tree he was supposedly to whack and slowly approached it. He looked down at the mallet again and raised it, a strange expression on his face. He struck the tree with the mallet and a few leaves fell from it. He walked back to Noboru and handed him the wooden mallet.

"Great! Now you're trained!" Noboru cried happily.

Aang laughed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well, then, thank you for training me, and for giving me those spit darts."

"Wait! You've got to test them on someone!"

Aang looked questionably at them, "What?"

"You have to test them! Shoot a paralyzing one at Sokka!" Buyou shouted, pointing over at Sokka, who was currently walking over to them, a smile on his face.

Aang snickered, "Fine, but this won't hurt him right?"

"Nope, it will just numb the area around where you shoot it," Usagi said in a small, yet happy voice.

"Okay," Aang continued to snicker, pulling the bamboo shoot out and stick the paralyzing dart into it, "Here goes nothing," He raised the shoot to his lips and blew out towards him, the dart shooting right into Sokka's arm.

"Oww!" Sokka shouted, plummeting to the group with a thud. Aang winced when he heard the thump. "Why does this keep happening to me!"

"Sorry, Sokka. They're training me…"

"Training you?" Sokka complained from the ground, "That's what I was coming for! But nooo, you had to go an paralyze me!"

Aang smiled nervously, "Once again, sorry, Sokka,"

The teen on the ground grumbled incoherently, then spoke, "When this wears off, I'm going to kill you all,"

Aang laughed, "Okay, Sokka,"

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OoO

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The next day, after Sokka had finally worn the shirshu venom from his body and 'killed' all of them, Aang practiced all morning to get ready for his battle in two days. They all had to leave the next morning to make it in time. They were to meet the troops at the Fire Nation Palace the next day.

It finally came time to leave and everyone piled onto Appa.

Aang was sitting nervously on Appa's head, looking down at the ground and gripping the reigns tightly. He noticed Katara and Zuko come up behind him, "Don't worry, Aang, we'll all be fine," Katara said, rubbing his shoulders.

"Yeah, and you're the most powerful bender in the world," Zuko said, smiling, patting the young teen's back.

The monk sighed, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his arms and head on his hands, "I hate wars."

"We all do, buddy," Sokka added, climbing onto Appa's saddle, "But that's why we're gonna end this one." He smiled.

Aang glanced back at him, "Yeah…Well, I guess we should get going,"

"Yep," Everyone else agreed with a smile, climbing onto Appa's saddle as well.

"Yip Yip!" Aang called out, flying into the air and heading for the launching point of their army, the Fire Nation Palace. Iroh waved as they departed.

The battle was almost upon them.

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**A/N: ONE-TWO WEEKS STARTIINNGGGG. NOW! :D**


	13. Chapter 12: The Awaited Battle: Part 1

**Author's Note!: **

**Hazzah! I told you I could do it! I told you I could update in One-Two weeks! Okay…Well…technically it's been two weeks and a few hours…but still…it's already like…6 weeks earlier than usual. I plan to have the next one out in one-two weeks as well. :) **

**Also, if you agree with me that the chapter title is kinda cheesy…You're not alone. I just couldn't think of anything better, haha :) So yeah…I also didn't have time to spell check…Yeah…well…**

**Enjoy! Oh yeah. And this chapter and the next(especially the next) are the reason this story is rated T and not K or K+. It's just because of blood… :/ There's no blood that I recall writing in this chapter, but there is in the next, just a warning. :) **

**Okay…NOW. Enjoy! =D**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 12:

The Awaited Battle

-Part 1-

The gaang spent a day of traveling to get back to the Fire Nation. To tell the truth, they were getting pretty sick of traveling.

Strangely, Aang was being pretty quiet since he woke up. He kept staying near Katara and always wanted her with him. The others thought this was strange, but they took it as Aang just being in a lovey-dovey mood with her.

They waited on the beaches for the rest of their army of men. It was not a large group, but even so, they believed it would be enough to defeat the Energybenders.

The troups arrived one after another, starting with the Fire Nation soldiers, them being the closest. About thirty-five soldiers showed up, walking around and socializing with everyone about the battle. Then the swamp-benders showed up in a boat powered by their bending, they began talking with each other as well. The Kyoshi Warriors showed up in a boat as well, walking off the platform to the ground as they docked and meeting up with Suki and Sokka.

"Suki, it's so good to see you again!" One of the warriors exclaimed, hugging their fellow warrior.

"It's good to see you too," Suki replied, hugging the girl back, "How has your training been?"

"It's been going pretty good," The girl replied, motioning to her other warrior friend, "We've been training ever since we left you, and we're a lot better now."

"Well, that's good, I'm really proud of all of you," Suki responded to them, looking at her friends.

Sokka looked at the reunited friends and smiled, looking onward towards the ocean, waiting for the watertribe men to show up. As if on cue, the watertribe boats came into view. He smiled and spread out his arms, waving rapidly to them. The boats came up to the new docks on the beach, courtesy of Aang and Toph. The men walked out and towards Sokka to greet him.

"So, are you ready for battle, Sokka?" Hakoda greeted his son, putting his large hand on his shoulder.

"I'm ready, and I'm pretty sure everyone else is as well," Sokka replied, turning to look at the rest of the troops, noticing that Pipsqueak, the Duke, and the mechanist and his son had arrive with the watertribe warriors. He smiled and nodded to Aang and Katara who were talking with each other about twenty feet away. They smiled and waved back, happily.

Hakoda patted Sokka on the back as he passed, "Well, I'm going to go talk with your sister, I'll see you when we regroup for battle."

Sokka nodded in approval and joined back up with Suki. Hakoda walked over to Katara and Aang as they were talking about how they planned the battle to go.

"Hello, Katara," He said, opening his arms for a hug.

Katara turned and smiled, wrapping her arms around her father, "It's great to see you, Dad!" Aang smiled at the two.

Hakoda put his hand on her head with a smile, "So, you guys were talking about your plans for the battle? How do you plan for it to go, considering that we have no idea what will be awaiting us?"

Katara pulled away and turned her head slightly to Aang, "Well, we planned on having Aang and myself go after Prince Kang-Dae and his father, and the rest of everyone will fight off their forces."

"Okay, but do you know what their forces will be?" Hakoda asked.

Aang shrugged, "Well, we're not exactly sure, but when we went there the first time, there were guards on flying-horseback. There also were may guards walking the streets. I assume that you will be fighting them."

Hakoda nodded, "The flying horses might be a problem. They have the skies, so we are at a disadvantage, but I'm sure we'll all be fine."

"Alright, so, it's agreed that me and Aang will fight the main two while everyone else fights their forces?" Katara cleared, her hands resting on her hips.

"Yes," The two agreed.

Sokka walked up to them and asked, "I've got everyone ready to go, are you all ready?"

The trio looked at each other and nodded, walking with Sokka towards Appa. Sokka began speaking, "So, we've got it planned, we will take the water tribe boats, the dragon-horses, Appa, and the submarine that the mechanist built for the battle. When we arrive at the whirlpool, all the troups and horses will squeeze into the subs, and one of us will ride Appa into the water. Oh, and the mechanist heavily weighted the subs so when we cut the power in it, it will pretty much sink."

"Why did he do that?" Aang asked, tilting his head as he walked.

"He did it so that when we go through the whirlpool, we won't get caught in the force of the water, we might have some difficulties getting Appa through, but we can't fit him on the sub," Sokka told them, "We need one of you two to fly him so that you can try to bend the water current just enough to fit you and Appa into the spiral."

Aang slightly raised his hand, "I can do that."

"Okay, then," Sokka nodded, facing the beaches again, "Head to whatever mode of transportation you prefer, we should be there in about two hours." He waved to Zuko and Mai who were climbing into the submarine's entrance, they waved back and smiled at him before climbing in. Toph followed them.

"Okay, I'll go with Aang on Appa," Katara said, wrapping her arm around his. Aang turned and smiled at her.

"I'll ride one of the horses with Suki so that there can be room on the submarine for the firebenders, Kyoshi warriors, and the other troups to be comfortable. The kids really want to ride a dragon-horse so we might as well let them," Sokka said, pointing over at the kids who were running happily towards the dragon-horse. They hopped on and instantly called out the command to make it fly, having it soar around everyone.

The group laughed and walked to their 'mode of transportation', as Sokka had called it.

Aang and Katara jumped onto Appa's furry head and sat back, taking hold of the reigns. Sokka and Suki climbed on their dragon-horse, and Suki wrapped her arms around Sokka's abdomen. Hakoda told his warriors to start heading out towards their destination and the boat began to move. The mechanist took this as a sign to start moving as well, so they headed off too.

"Buyou! We're heading out!" Aang called to the children who were clearly having fun flying around.

"Oh!" Buyou responded, him and the other children laughing as they headed for the battle.

Soon, all of the troops had left for the battle and had started the two-hour long trip to the Energybender civilization.

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OoO

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"So…do you think you're ready?"

Aang shook out of his thoughts as he heard speaking from the girl next to him, he turned to her, "What?"

"Are you ready…For all of this," She repeated, looking into his eyes as he stared into hers.

"Umm…Yeah, I guess. I'm just nervous," Aang admitted, looking down at his lap as he steered the flying bison through the sky. His hands were visibly shaking. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Something tells me you're not," Katara sighed, grabbing his shaking hands and holding them close to her. She looked down at them, and then back up at him, "Please tell me what is on your mind. I want to help. I know this is a battle. I know it's tough, and nerve-racking, but I don't think that is the only thing bothering you. I just want to help. Please, tell me."

Aang sighed and looked at her, "Well, last night, I had a nightmare…"

Katara raised her eyebrow and scooted closer to him, "What was it about? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well," Aang began, looking away from her, "It started out weird. I was standing in the middle of a large arena-like area. I heard a scream. I turned around and looked for you. But…I couldn't find you. The scream was from you…and you kept screaming for help, and crying…I woke up after that…"

Katara looked at him with concern and fear, she squeezed his hands tightly, but not to the point of pain. She was always gentle. "Aang, nothing bad is going to happen. And if it does, I can just heal whatever happens."

Aang had tears forming in his eyes at the thought of the terrible dream, "But it won't…right? You'll be safe…right?"

"Yes."

"I'll protect you. No matter what, Katara."

The watertribe girl smiled, looking at him kindly and leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder, "I know you will, and that's what I love about you."

"I love everything about you," Aang smiled, his goofy grin showing as he looked down at her happily.

In response, Katara leaned up and kissed his cheek, leaning down and the resting her head on his shoulder once more.

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OoO

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Two hours seemed to pass in an instant as the whirlpool came into sight in the distance.

"Woah." Aang exclaimed, "It's huge! Bigger than ever before!" Katara leaned forward in surprise as well, her eyes wide, looking at the large spiral of water.

The submarine stopped and rose to the surface, Appa slid into the water next to it. As Aang and Katara jumped across to the roof of the sub, the door of the sub opened up revealing Toph, desperate for fresh air. The couple laughed as Toph fell backwards and enjoyed being above the water.

Sokka, Suki, and the kids landed their dragon-horses on the submarine's roof, jumping off and leading them down a now-open ramp and into the sub. They got the horses in and climbed back out, greeting Aang, Katara, and Toph one last time before the battle would begin. They had a group hug like they always did before a battle and lingered there, all enjoying being together.

"What! I don't get to be in the group hug?" Zuko complained sarcastically, with a laugh. He walked over and opened his arms wide to accept their hug. Mai reluctantly joined in, not being a big hug person.

Aang pulled back and looked over at the menacing whirlpool before them, "Okay…Is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded, serious expressions on their faces.

Aang nodded back at them as well, "Okay, then, let's head down."

Katara gave Aang a quick kiss before climbing back in with everyone else into the sub. Aang smiled at them all and watched as the door to the submarine was locked close. He jumped over to Appa and formed an air bubble around him, diving underwater as the submarine cut it's power and began sinking.

The sub used small bursts of power to move forward towards the spinning whirlpool. Aang waited for them to get through first. They seemed to be having difficulty breaking through, but they made it eventually. This made Aang nervous, what if it was too strong for him to bend against. That was when he realized that he had bent it before, and his nervousness went away.

When they landed on the bottom of the whirlpool, they felt a rumbling. A wooshing sound was heard above them.

_Oh no!_ Aang thought as he looked up and saw the water above them slowly crashing down, he quickly turned to the submarine to find Sokka sticking his head out of the door in the top. The water began to pick up speed, and Aang suddenly went half-ballistic, "SOKKA! SOKKA! CLOSE THE DOOR NOW!" He screamed at his watertribe warrior friend.

Sokka looked at him weirdly for a split second before he realized what was happening. He yelled in terror and quickly slammed the door shut, twisting the lock around quickly and securing the door. Aang was too overwhelmed in his friend's safety that he forgot about his and Appa's.

He yelled in terror as well as he saw the water ready to crush him.

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OoO

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Katara looked wide-eyed at Sokka as he yelled in terror and slammed the door shut. The rest of the troups looked at him weirdly as well. Sokka spun the lock on the door and jumped down, backing away. A few seconds later, a large crash was heard overhead, like the sound of water. The troops began to fill with worry, asking questions such as, "What's going on?" "What was that?" and "What just happened?".

Sokka turned to them and announced, "They collapsed the whirlpool on us, but I think we might be fine. This is a pretty strong machine."

Katara's heart began to pound, much like the other soldiers there, but not for the same reason.

Where was Aang?

_Is he okay? Did he stop the water from crushing him? _Her thoughts were running wild as she ran to a small thick window that had been installed into the submarine. She squinted as she looked out into it.

She faintly saw a light shining in the water through the window, but it was hard to see due to the glare from the light in the sub. She pressed her hands to the window and shaded her eyes to see better and saw that Aang had gone into the Avatar State. He was bending a large sphere around himself and Appa, protecting them.

She sighed in relief and pulled away slightly from the window. She joined Sokka, Hakoda, and the mechanist at the control center of the sub, looking out the window, noticing that Aang had swam Appa in front of them to see what they were doing.

Katara waved and listened to what the men were talking about.

"Where are we going to get in from? I don't see anywhere," The mechanist questioned, raising his arms in slight frustration.

"I'm not sure yet. Just wait. I'm thinking," Sokka squinted out the window, getting distracted as he saw Aang swimming around in confusion with Appa. Suddenly, Aang stopped, looking over in the distance. He turned back to them and pointed in the direction where he had been staring.

The subs began moving in the direction of his pointing. All of a sudden, a big dome came into view right in front of a larger, brighter one. They looked downward and saw that a large opening was in the smaller dome.

"I guess we'll just go in there," Sokka suggested, pointing towards the gaping hole.

"But what if it's a trap and it traps us so we can't breathe, Sokka?" Hakoda said fearfully, watching as Aang took Appa and him up to make another fresher air bubble around them.

"No, I don't think they'd try to kill us off that easily. If they wanted to kill us, they would have come after us without warning. They _told _us to meet them here and fight them. They obviously _want _to fight," Sokka reasoned, continuing to tell the mechanist to move the subs forward.

Aang led them into the dome on Appa and waited for something to happen inside. Suddenly, he heard a slight crackling behind him. He turned around and saw an ice wall slowly closing over the hole in the icy wall. He looked at it with a mixture of fear, anger, and confusion in his eyes.

He looked up and saw the water in the room start to drop after the hole sealed up. Aang understood now. They were making it so that they could enter safely before the fighting began. They must have thought they would come in some way like this.

When the water had dropped, Sokka and Katara's heads popped out of the submarine door. Katara climbed out and ran towards Aang. She climbed onto Appa's head and embraced him. Aang smiled and hugged her back, looking over at the warrior she had left behind.

"What's going on? What do we do now?" Sokka asked, looking in confusion at Aang.

"I'm not sure…" Aang replied, pulling slowly away from Katara, turning and looking around the large dome above them. The floor was sandy and had multiple underwater plants laying limp on it.

The troups marched out of a larger door of the subs, they crowded around in a circle, waiting to find out what would happen. Aang jumped down on the wet sand as well, joining the soldiers. A large crack was suddenly heard and everyone quickly turned to where the sound came from.

A large door appeared where the crack came from and a hardly armored man stood in the center of it. The man slowly motioned for them to follow with a wave of his hand, he turned on his heels and walked into a dark hallway, leading to the city. Aang and his friends looked at the man strangely, but followed him cautiously. The other troops followed them as well, walking towards the strange man.

When the light returned, they had entered the city. They saw the light of their spirit shining dimly at the top of the humungous dome. The streets were completely clear, and there were no sounds but the marching of the soldiers echoing on the walls of the dome. They followed the slow-moving man down a street in the city, pulling out their various weapons or taking stances as they moved.

The man walked faster and turned into an ally. Suddenly, men jumped from the rooftops, attacking the troops. Everyone yelled in fear, but quickly jumped into the fight. The Energybenders had the element of surprise on their side, so the fighting started out badly for the Avatar's troops. If a soldier took out three Energybenders, six more seemed to replace them by running in from another street in the battle.

"I guess they had more guards than we suspected," Aang said, blasting about five men back far with airbending, then spinning around and stomping the ground, sending three more men flying into the sky.

"Yeah," Sokka agreed, swinging his sword and slicing a man's armor in half, leaving him only scratched. The man looked at Sokka in slight terror and ran off, leaving Sokka smirking at the weak man's defeat, "If only we had planned better, we could have had sooo many more troops."

"Yeah," Aang also agreed.

The fighting continued, the Energybenders still having the upper hand. In the midst of the battle, Aang spotted Kang-Dae and his father marveling at the sight of the fight. He glared at them and started sprinting towards them.

Unfortunately, the two noticed him as well and smirked, turning around and jogging towards an ally. "Kang-Dae! Stop!" He shouts, angrily, speeding towards them. He noticed Katara fighting off a couple of men.

"Katara! Come with me!" He calls to her.

Katara yells back, "Just a second! I'm kind of busy here!"

Aang quickly jumps to the scene with a smirk, knocking the guys back with a blast of fire from both hands. Katara heard a man coming from behind her and ducked down, dodging his blast of fire. She slid her leg around in a quick motion against the man's legs, tripping him over and sending him falling onto his back. Aang gust him away with a blast of air.

"Okay," Katara breathes, running along with Aang to follow the two men running away. Aang sees them in the distance and speeds his running up to keep them in sight. Katara struggles a bit to keep up.

The couple sees Kang-Dae and his father enter a large rectangular arena. They catch up to them and slowly walk into the opening of it, looking around in suspicion. They spot the men far across the arena and are only able to catch a glimpse of their smirks as the gates slam behind them.

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OoO

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Near the front of the large dome of a city, Sokka and Suki are fighting back to back, guarding each other as they fight to defeat the Energybenders. Their most common move was the one where Sokka would grab Suki's wrists and spin her around to kick the men surrounding them. They fought hard and sweat droplets formed on their foreheads.

Mai was fighting well also, but it seemed as though for every guard she hit, another guard replaced them. They just keep coming.

Zuko fought near her, blasting soldier after soldier with large flares of fire. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the energybenders were sometimes firebenders as well, the fighting turned into a big game of hot potato. Thankfully, overhead the kids flew around on the dragon-horses, distracting the guards below them, letting Zuko get a few great shots at the energybenders.

The kids repeatedly took out guards as they flew across the sky. Buyou managed to get multiple men taken down with his paralyzing darts, and some were overcome with the pain from the pain-pincher darts. Noboru hit soldiers across the head with his mallet, making sure that they were out cold. Sometimes, he even took to jumping down on top of them and whacking them repeatedly till they passed out.

The fighting was tough, but the energybenders were just getting started. They had this encounter planned for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years of planning. Hundreds of years of training. This was only the beginning of what was to come.

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OoO

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Aang and Katara scowled at Kang-Dae and his father, taking slow steps towards them menacingly. The men continue to smirk, locking eyes with Aang and Katara.

Aang and Katara stop about fifty feet from the men, continuing to scowl, both taking a stance. Kang-Dae turns to his father and nods, facing Aang and Katara once more and drawing his sword. He takes a fighting stance and grins evilly. His father nods as well, taking a stance along with his son.

Kang-Dae rushes forward, sword in hand, yelling out a battle cry. His father joins him, sprinting behind him, forming a ball of fire.

Aang and Katara take this opportunity to spring into action. They rush forward, gritting their teeth, preparing for the large battle. Aang jumps high into the air, forming a large ball of air. He saw a large inferno heading up towards him, most likely by Kang-Dae's father. He used the blast to shoot away the flames. The remainder of the fire had become a large puff of smoke, leaving Aang hidden in the gray abyss. He couldn't breathe though.

Katara had began striking Kang-Dae's father with her water whips, but he blocked each one with his stronger firebending. She grumbled under her breath as attacked harder.

Aang jumped down from the smoke and surprised Kang-Dae, kicking him in the gut, sending him reeling back. He sent fire blasts at him that hardly even grazed him; he was too fast. Aang grumbled as well, using a large burst of air to send Kang-Dae flying back. He turned to see Katara fighting hard with the king. He shifted the earth underneath the older man.

His father stumbled but caught himself just in time to be hit by a rock in the chest. He was flung back, skidding to a stop on his back on the ground. He winced and quickly got to his feet, only to see Katara and Aang performing a waterbending move together.

They mirrored each other's movements, spinning around in a stance and shoving their hands together. They drew back their hands and spread them out wide, gathering the water in the air around them. Kang-Dae's father gasped as he saw water forming out of thin air. He tried to stop them, shooting multiple rocks in their direction, but Aang took them all out.

Aang looked wide-eyed as he saw the rocks being controlled by the man. _How can he bend earth and fire? _He thought, fearfully. Running out of time, Aang remembered how his friend Bumi had learned how to bend with only using his head. He turned his head to face the oncoming rocks and quickly shifted his head upwards, sending the rocks into oblivion. Aang and Katara shoved their large blast of water towards him, freezing him in place.

_That ought to hold him,_ Aang thought with a smirk, but then it came back to him, "Katara, he could bend earth and fire! How can he do that if only the Avatar can!"

Katara looked back at him, equally worried, "I'm not sure."

"Since you're so curious, I'll tell you," Kang-Dae smirked, walking slowly towards them. The couple took a defensive stance, turning quickly around to face him. They heard his father break free from his icy prison behind them.

"Me and my father can both bend the elements water, earth, and fire because we stole the energy from those kinds of benders. In stealing their energy, we took their bending from them and made it our own," Kang-Dae sneered, "Afraid?"

"Not at all," Aang growled, his hands beginning to glow with fire, "I'm still more powerful than you!" He thrust his hands forward, creating a large blast of fire. Kang-Dae gasped, but with anger, trying to blast it with earthbending. Unfortunately for him, he didn't succeed. He was flung back and knocked onto his back, skidding backwards as he attempted to block the surprisingly strong blow.

Katara looked wide-eyed at the blast. She followed the trail of fire back to its creator and saw that it took a lot out of her boyfriend. She ran forward towards him and helped him keep standing, "Are you okay?" She asked, her voice tinted with concern.

"Yeah," Aang breathed, gently pushing her away, straightening his back, "That just took a lot out of me. I have no idea where that anger came from."

Katara looked at him, her face still contorted with worry.

"I'm fine, though, thank you," Aang smiled, just in time to notice multiple shards of ice heading in their direction from behind Katara, "Look out!" He called, pushing Katara out of the way and shattering the ice.

Katara's worry drifted into anger, rushing towards the person who shot the ice. Kang-Dae's father. She took a large amount of water from the air and knocked him back with it, repeatedly swiping at him with water. Aang joined her and started to attack him with fire whips.

Kang-Dae stood and growled at them, noticing that Aang had burned his right forearm in the attack. "No one scars this prince." He took a deep breath and ran angrily towards Aang and Katara, forming a large spiral of fire.

Aang noticed it and tried to block him and Katara from it, but slightly failed. The blast sent them flying back and the two crashed into one of the four walls of the arena. They groaned as they stood but saw the two men rushing towards them. They didn't have time to move before another blast came at them, followed by a large group of rocks.

Aang gasped and tried once more to block the attack, only succeeding in blocking the fire. Once of the rocks got him in the gut and he reeled forward at the impact. A few seconds later, he heard Katara cry out in the same fashion that he had. He winced and tried to get up, successfully doing so. He ran to Katara and helped her up, noticing that she got hit in the arm pretty hard, leaving multiple tiny cuts on it. She winced and stood.

"Are you okay?" Aang asked her this time, gently grabbing her arm.

She winced again, but said, "Yeah, it just stings."

"Okay, well, when we beat them, I'll be sure to wrap it up for you," Aang smiled at her warmly. Katara smiled back.

"Are you two just going to talk all day?"

The couple turned to the men and frowned, taking their stances. Kang-Dae smirked, spinning his arms over his head and forming another ball of fire.

Aang would not let them get hit again, so he spun an equally large blast of air around in his eyes. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes Katara making a large ball of water as well. He smirked, knowing that Kang-Dae and his father would be hit this time.

Kang-Dae shouted out loud as a sort of battle cry, thrusting his arms forward, sending the ball in the direction of Aang and Katara. On queue, Katara and Aang sent their blasts at him as well. Aang knew that the fire would be diminished, but suddenly the fire flashed blue. And it became larger, the blue turned into purple and green formed out of the purple. The colorful blast burned with intense heat and a loud sizzle was heard as the water simmered away and the air was pushed aside.

Aang gasped, forming another ball of air around him and Katara as a form of defense. The inferno of multi-colored fire consumed the ball of air, leaving Aang and Katara heating up inside. The fire broke through and attacked the couple, sending them flying once more.

Aang and Katara yelled out, closing their eyes to prepare for the impact. They crashed into the wall again but with a much greater force and couldn't move, they shook slightly as they tried to push fallen rocks off of them, not finding the strength.

Silence enveloped the area, leaving only the stressed breathing of Aang and Katara and the faint sound of fighting near the front of the dome-city. Kang-Dae walked slowly towards the two, a disappointed scowl on his face.

"Is that really all I had to do to defeat you?"

Aang and Katara groaned and glared at him, he continued to say, "I'm disappointed." He lifted his leg and stepped onto Aang's stomach, holding him in place, "I thought the Avatar would be much stronger than this. This just shows me how weak my ancestors were, and how much stronger I am now." He kicked Aang, causing him to groan in pain.

"But guess what?...We're only getting started."

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OoO

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Sokka and Suki are fighting extremely well. They continuously take out soldier after soldier without remorse, only speeding up their fighting. Despite their great battle, the soldiers always seem to keep coming. There was a growing pile of unconscious men lying on the ground around them though.

A large packed circle forms around them with men armed with spears and swords, heavily armored. They began to get worried. They saw the kids flying towards them, seeming to be holding something. They looked at them strangely as they prepared to fight the oncoming men.

Suddenly, the kids swooped in, throwing down multiple smoke bombs around the circle, forming a huge puff of smoke to hide everyone inside. The kids threw on some goggles they had hanging on their pockets and dove into the smoke.

Sokka and Suki were extremely confused and they began hearing the cries of beaten men. The watertribe men came into slight view, even with the smoke. The kids and the watertribe soldiers took out all the guards around them.

When the smoke diminished, the grinning faces of Buyou, Noboru, and Usagi shown as they stood happily in front of Sokka and Suki.

Sokka chuckled happily, "Where did you get the smoke bombs?"

"The Duke gave them to us!" Noboru beamed, spreading his arms out, showing them his large expanse of smoke bombs attached to a strap that encircled his left arm.

"And the goggles?" Suki asked this time, pointing to the goggles that now rested on the children's foreheads.

"The mechanist," Buyou stated simply, a smile on his face. Then his eyes widened, "Sokka! Behind you!"

Sokka smirked and took the handle of his sword and jammed it into the man's abdomen, sending him reeling back in pain. He made an, "Oof!" sound as he landed on the ground. Buyou shot him with a paralyzing dart for good measure.

After staring at the man for a few seconds, the group turned to look at each other.

"So, where are Aang and Katara?" Usagi asked, getting multiple comments of agreement from Buyou and Noboru.

Sokka turned and pointed towards a large walled arena in the distance, "All I know is that they followed Kang-Dae and his father into there. So, they must still be in there."

"Oh, I see," Buyou stated, turning with his friends to the arena, "Let's go!"

The kids cried in happiness as a form of agreement, climbing onto their dragon-horses and shouting, "Hae!"

The horses neighed and jumped into the air, flying off towards the arena, getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

Sokka and Suki stare at them as they disappear into the sky, but suddenly, Toph interrupts by taking out a soldier behind them, "We're in a battle! PAY. ATTENTION."

She gets behind them and guards their back, the three of them forming a small triangle. She kicks the ground, sending rocks flying into the air, shooting them at multiple guards in front of her, "Who would have thought they'd have so many soldiers."

Suki shrugged, "Well, if you think about it, this civilization has been around for thousands of years, they've had more than enough time to build up an army.

Toph nods, "I guess you're right."

The fighting continues and the guards just seem to be getting stronger with every attack, but their strength was nowhere near the power that the prince and king had inside them.

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OoO

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Aang closed his eyes angrily as he felt the vibrations of what Kang-Dae was doing. He felt him forming a large spike of earth, most likely to stab him and kill him. He growled under his breath. He felt the feeling in his body come back and came up with the most desperate idea he had ever thought of…

Aang began chuckling, causing Katara and the two men to look at him strangely.

"Thinking of happy thoughts before you die are yo-AGH!" Kang-Dae exclaimed, clutching at a place where the sun don't shine, stumbling backwards in pain. Aang had kicked him.

Aang laughed, and threw the rocks off of him, using them to attack Kang-Dae. The prince continued to lay there in shock and pain. Aang flung him backwards using air and ran up to his father, pushing him with another large burst of air.

He ran up to Katara and helped her up. She assured him that she was fine, brushing herself off. They looked in the distance and saw a dragon-horse in the distance, with waving passengers on it. The waving hands of the kids.

Aggravated, Kang-Dae got to his feet and mincingly walked towards them with his father, his face full of anger. The kids flew overhead silently and Noboru and Buyou jumped out of the sky like they previously had, jumping onto the men's heads. They laughed and latched onto their heads, riding them like wild animals.

Aang and Katara watched the scene unfold before them with a laugh. They ran towards the men to help out the kids but they threw them off of their heads and growled angrily.

"Who are these insects!" Kang-Dae roared, taking out his sword to kill the kids. Aang and Katara used this distraction to attack the men. Aang runs behind Kang-Dae's father and shot a blast of fire in his direction. Katara ran to Kang-Dae and shot multiple ice shards at him.

With and angry glare, Kang-Dae turns to Katara and uses his own waterbending to bend the ice shards way. Katara went wide-eyed, gasping as the block was deflected. His father was able to sense the oncoming fire behind him and bend it out of the way as well. They had failed.

"Guys! Get out of here!" Aang yelled to the kids, sending them off.

The children knew better than to disobey Aang, so they did as he said, running and jumping back to their dragon-horse. They flew away without another word. Angrily, Aang and Katara jumped back into action, attacking the two men before them.

Suddenly, the men showed their hands together, emitting an eerie green light to form from them. They chanted a few words and sent a ball of green energy towards them.

Aang was shocked at this new attack. He had never seen anything like it, '_They're literally energy bending…' _He thought to himself. He didn't know how to block it, so he and Katara just crossed their arms over their faces to try and protect them. No such luck.

The energy ball crashed into them, sending them reeling back like before. The ball had the force of a giant boulder, but the heat of a large fire, the speed of wind, and the sharpness of ice. They got back up with slight pain and rushed to dodge another energy ball formed by the two men.

As much as they tried to attack them, Aang and Katara were not succeeding. The energy attacks were far to much for them and most of all, the two leaders of the city were too strong for them. They needed to think of something…and quick.

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OoO

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Due to a sudden burst of ferocity, the soldiers were able to keep the Energybenders back. They were no longer having to give their all. The soldiers were falling back. Sokka noticed that a very armored man was trying to sneak away from the battle and he must admit that he was doing a terrible job at it. Everyone on the whole battlefield could see them.

Sokka tapped Suki on the shoulder and told her to follow. Eventually the entire invasion was following them, Sokka and Suki in the lead with Toph closely by. Sokka saw Hakoda jog up in the corner of his eye as well, along with Zuko and Mai.

The whole Energybender army had begun running towards one random street. They began running faster as if they were trying to loose the invasion. Tough luck for them.

Sokka followed as fast as he could. He tried to keep up but the army was a bit faster than he was. When he finally got back into eyeshot, the entire Energybender army was standing posed before them on a long, wide road, smirking. Two men on dragon-horses hovered above their army, drawing their swords out.

Sokka and Suki took this as a threat so they took their stances, preparing for the remainder of the fight.

The men on horseback both simultaneously rose their swords into the sky, signaling something unknown to the army on the Avatar's side. They look strangely at the men in the sky and wait to see what they were going to do.

The men both slashed at the sky, setting something still unknown off.

The floor beneath the army rumbles, and a crack forms in the middle of them. Many gasps are heard. The crack splits even farther and the ground beneath them slides away leaving a dark pit. The invasion fell into the collapsed floor and into the dark abyss. Then, the floor closed up like nothing had ever happened…

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OoO

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Aang and Katara were momentarily able to break away from the fight. Kang-Dae was obviously slightly worn-out as well. Katara wiped the sweat off of her forehead and sighed, "These guys are too strong…"

"Yeah…" Aang agreed, looking over at them as they stretched, proud of themselves.

Then he came to a conclusion, "They're only strong like that because they're fighting together. If they were split up, then they won't be able to create their energy attacks. It would definitely drop the power of their attacks.

Katara looks down in thought, but agrees, "Yeah, you're right,"

"Who do you want to take?" Aang asked, looking Katara in the eyes.

"I'll take Kang-Dae," She replied, frowning at the man across the arena, "So you'll take his father?"

"I guess so," Aang nodded, giving Katara a quick hug before returning to their enemies. They stood before them and shouted, "Kang-Dae! We're ready to fight now!"

Kang-Dae smirked and walked up towards them with a smirk, "Oh are you now? Well. We've been ready, so any time." He took a stance, most likely to form another energy ball as soon as the couple attacked.

Simultaneously, Aang and Katara quickly attacked the men, sending them off in two different directions, not giving them any room to escape and reach each other. Katara and Aang fought with lots of fury, sending the men back. Unfortunately for Katara, though, Kang-Dae was fast as well. Hitting her an equal amount of times.

Aang was doing much better than before. He had almost no problem attacking Kang-Dae's father. He fought with a seemingly permanent smirk on his face, only checking on Katara a few times to make sure she was okay, but still stay on task.

Katara had sweat rolling down the side of her face, the prince's face matching hers. She tried to attack but Kang-Dae grabbed her wrist, using the opportunity to send her back by hitting her with a large blast of water. She stood up slowly and stared angrily at Kang-Dae.

He angrily spun around, kicking his foot into the air, shouting out with a battle cry as he kicked a huge blast of fire her way, changing colors. She knew how strong the multi-colored fire was, so she planned to dodge it. She formed a wave of ice and rode it, zig-zagging to continue to move, surfing along the icy surface.

She found her thinking to herself how bad of a déjà vu this was, dodging a large fire blast with this ice wave, just like she had with Azula on the day of the comet.

Lost in her thoughts, she believed that Kang-Dae had stopped making the blast. She planned to slide off her wave and hide among the pillars that held up the large walls of the arena. Little did she know, though, that Kang-Dae had this entire attack planned out. He wasn't where he created the colorful inferno, he was standing among the pillars, waiting, sword in hand. Katara didn't know.

She only had time to gasp as the sword slid into her side…

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	14. Chapter 13: The Awaited Battle: Part 2

**A/N: Okay guys, sorry about the annoying cliffhanger and the five day extended break!**

**First of all, this chapter only took five days longer because….Well….Would you look at the freaking length? So yeah…**

**Also, this chapter is the chapter I've had planned since the beginning of this whole entire story….so yeah…**

**Also, this chapter contains blood. I bet you can probably guess that due to what the cliffhanger to this chapter was, heh…heh….So, if you are offended by such things…Ya know, I don't know what you should do….**

**Also (for the third time), I am in way to big of a rush to spell check...So...please deal with it... I don't think I made any HUGE mistakes...**

**One more thing! You should all congra****tulate me because during this chapter! I hit the 100,000 word point! I have over 100,000 words now! =D That's awesome!**

…**.Here's the chapter…It's freakishly long, so grab some popcorn and a soda.**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 13:

The Awaited Battle

-Part 2-

"Where are we?"

"Why is it so dark!"

"What happened!"

The shouts and complaints roared on, all asking the same question. Where are they? Sokka angrily mumbled to himself, feeling along the earthen wall of the pitch-black room. He searched hastily for a door or window, some way to get out. Finding it to no avail, he slumped noiselessly to the ground amidst the sweaty soldiers from their forces.

"Sokka?" He heard a voice call out to him, a couple feet a way. He tilted his head towards the feminine voice, though there was no reason to. No one could see anything. The voice wouldn't be able to realize that he had heard her.

"Yeah? Is that you, Suki?" Sokka asked, looking strangely in the direction of the voice, feeling around in the air for her.

"Yes," Suki replied, grabbing his hands.

"How did you find me, it's to dark to see?" Sokka asked, smiling slightly, taking his girlfriend into a gentle hug.

"I followed you, I just grabbed onto your shirt," Suki laughed, the two of them stranding up and attempting to look around.

"Oh," Sokka laughed as well.

Suddenly, coughs were heard around the small room, and people were shouting about gases. Sokka and Suki began to get scared. Sokka drew his sword, not knowing what he would do with it. He slid it back in it's sheath as he too felt the presence of the strange gas.

Firebenders began lighting up their hands to see what was going on. As the room began to illuminate, the soldiers began to see what was in the air. A hazy green gas was spreading into the room from the corners of the walls. The fire began to dim, and the non-firebenders began to question them.

Zuko had been standing next to Sokka and Suki, so they saw him when he created the fire dancing in his hands.

"Why is your fire going out, Zuko, burn it harder!" Sokka complained, looking at the quickly dieing fire.

"I can't…It's not doing what I'm telling it to!" Zuko griped, flexing the muscles in his arms to try and put more juice into the fire. Behind him, the other firebenders' fires were going out, one by one.

Quickly Zuko's fire died, sending the rest of the room into darkness. The panicking began once more. Gasps were heard around the small room, but then there was silence as all of the multiple benders tried to bend their elements, finding it to no avail. That was when the real panicking began.

Sokka had no clue what was going on. Not even his instincts would help him here. He couldn't see. He couldn't think. He could hardly breathe.

"Sokka! Sokka, where are you!" A younger voice rang out among the crowd.

"Toph? Toph, keep talking," Sokka replied, following the sound of the small voice. Suki and Zuko followed behind him, Zuko holding the hand of Mai, whom he bumped into walking around. Sokka bumped into multiple people before finding the blind girl.

He felt around until his fingers grazed Toph's hair. He then grabbed onto her shoulder, pulling her into their small group.

"Guys, I can't see. It's like…I can't bend…" Toph said frightfully, wrapping her arms around Sokka's left arm.

"I can't bend either. It's like this green gas is sucking us of our bending," Zuko grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, "Which means the only people left fighting who can _really _do something is Aang and Katara."

"And the kids," Suki added.

"Yeah., but they're just kids, and if you put all five of them against the hundreds of Energybender soldiers, plus their extremely strong leaders, they don't stand a chance," Zuko continued, his voice losing any hope.

There was a silence among them as they contemplated everything.

Suddenly, Sokka's mind kicked in, telling him what they needed to do, "Wait…There is still air in here. Despite the fact that the gases are seeping in, their must be somewhere her that the air is coming through. Like a vent."

Suki turned to him, "But the air is probably coming through the walls as well, Sokka."

Sokka shook his head, "No, the air wouldn't come in fast enough. Think about how long it's taken this gas to spread and get thick. If the air came in this slowly, we all would have passed out a long time ago."

"So," Suki continued, "Should we look for a vent then?"

Sokka nodded, "Yes, tell everyone to help."

Zuko stood up straighter, "I'll do that. Just one moment." He walked into what he thought was the middle of the room and shouted out among the crowds, "Everyone! You must listen now! We have an idea of how to make it out of this hole, but we need everyone's participation!" The crowds all turned to the sound of his voice to listen, "Search for any sort of exit or vent for air, if we can find that, we might be able to break through and get back outside. Now go!"

The troops were quick to get to work, the rapidly searched the walls, floors, and ceilings for any sort of exit. Suddenly, a small grunt was heard. The room got quiet at everyone tried to figure out who made the noise.

"There's some sort of a handle here!" A young voice called out, the Duke being it's maker. Sokka ran to his voice and crouched down on the ground next to him.

"A handle?" He asked, feeling along the ground.

"Yeah, I was running around looking for something when all of a sudden I tripped on this," The Duke replied, grabbing Sokka's hand and placing it on the handle.

"Maybe it's a door to get out," Sokka suggested, trying to pull the handle.

"Maybe," Suki repeated from behind him.

After struggling for about a minute, Sokka concluded, "It's too heavy to budge, it won't move."

"Maybe I can help," Pipsqueak's deep voice sounded above the group of crouching people. He squatted down and felt for the handle. The others retracted their hands from the handle, waiting for Pipsqueak to do something to it.

"Clear a space, guys," He said, gently pushing everyone out of his way.

A space was cleared and everyone waited for Pipsqueak to do his stuff. He grabbed tightly onto the handle and pulled with all his might. Even with that, he did not manage to unlock the strange handle. That's when something popped into his mind. Lock. Key. You turn a key. What if the handle was just one big key?

He placed both of his hands around the handle and twisted it to the right. When it didn't work, he turned it to the left. There was a loud click and the door lifted just a crack, leaving a sliver of light shining into the room.

Sokka slid his fingers under the crack and pulled up the now-not-heavy door, a burst of light shining in everyone's faces, temporarily blinding them. They squinted their eyes to see and a ladder came into view. Sokka smiled and looked down to see where the ladder lead, happy to see that it was only about ten feet high. He grabbed the top rung of the ladder and slid himself onto it. He stopped though suddenly, remembering his blind and now-helpless friend. He climbed back up, saying, "Toph, come here."

Toph pushed through the crowd slightly to follow his voice and stopped in front of him. "Here, climb on my back," Sokka said, grabbing her hand and showing her where he was.

She slowly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on for dear life as he climbed down the ladder, the other soldiers climbing down as well one by one.

As soon as everyone reached the bottom, they began to decide where to go next. They looked down both ways and saw that one side of the tunnel was pitch black and the other was lighted. The large group decided to head down the lighted path in hopes of reaching an exit.

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OoO

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_She only had time to gasp as the sword slid into her side…_

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Katara hung in midair for a split second, her face full of shock. Her eyes were wide and her arms were shaking involuntarily. Her feet landed on the ground, but continued to wobble, struggling to hold her up. Her mouth remained wide for two reasons: One, so that she could gasp each struggled breath into her lungs, and two, to attempt to speak to her attacker.

Kang-Dae smirked, a dark look in his eye and he held the sword in his hand, completely in control of the girl before him.

When he had heard the struggled gasp, Aang had turned to see what happened. He momentarily stopped fighting the Energybender king. He turned and faced Kang-Dae, meeting the most horrific sight that could ever befall his eyes. Katara attached to this evil monster's sword. He stood there in a terrible shock, not believing what he had just witnessed.

When the realization of what happened kicked in, Katara gasped loudly once more, uncontrollably grabbing for the blade that had pierced her side and her back. The pain flooded in and blood spilled from the wound. Katara screamed in agony and was about to fall to her knees.

Kang-Dae lost amusement in her and raised his foot, kicking her off of his sword with a mighty thrust.

The girl groaned in pain and cried out as she stumbled backwards, grasping the horrific wound in the side of her stomach. She fell to the ground and grunted, continuing to cry out and moan in pure suffering.

Aang gasped and tried to break free of his shock, when he did, he blinked and looked across at his writhing girlfriend, rapid tears forming in his eyes, he dashed forward, leaving his personal battle, screaming, "KATARA!"

He sprinted forward, his eyes filled with emotional torture, fear, and pure anger. He sprawled forward, tackling the prince and punching him, he flung him into the air and sent him flying all the way across the arena, smashing into the wall of it, collapsing the section of it.

He breathed quickly and his anger was replaced by only fear and extreme concern. He rushed to his screaming girlfriend and picked her up, cradling her in his arms, staring at her, a million emotions rushing through his eyes.

"Katara! Katara, speak to me! Please talk! Please!" He cried, gently shaking her.

"A-a-aang, I can't….I can't breathe…..AH-!" She cried, tears rushing down from her barely open eyes, her entire body shaking.

That was when Aang realized the rapidly growing pool of blood around them and on his pants as he held her. He resisted the urge to gag, knowing that this was neither the time, nor place to. He had to think of something fast. He couldn't let her lose this much blood.

He held her closer and just barely missed the two large fireballs directed at him.

He jumped a far distance away and gently laid her down, tossing off his shirt and untying his belt. He lifted her mid-section slightly to slide his robes under her to cover her back wound and she cried out loudly in pain. He winced at her pain and closed his eyes, unable to take it. He opened them again, only to continued wrapping his girlfriends wound with his shirt. He secured it with his belt and cradled her in his arms once more, turning to see where their enemies were.

He found them slowly approaching them a purple light in each of their hands, different than the green they had seen earlier.

Aang didn't know how he would defeat these powerful energybenders, but all he knew was that he had to get Katara out of there. He held her close as she shifted her head to lead on his shoulder, whimpering and crying in pain.

Once more, the two leaders of the underwater city guided their hands to one another, making their energy ball huge. Aang gritted his teeth in anger and jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the approaching attack.

Supporting Katara on his left arm and thighs as he kneeled on the ground, he cupped her cheek in his free hand and brought her to face him. Her eyes were closed tightly as she whimpered loudly.

"Oh, Katara…" Aang whispered, tears streaming down his face much like the girl before him, "Please…Please hold on."

"I-I…don't kn-know if I c-can, Aang…" Katara gasped it a pitiful cry, "It h-hurt's too- AH!- m-m-much…."

"Shhhh, shhhhh," Aang whispered, kissing her forehead, "Don't waste your energy talking, everything's going to be fine." Though he wasn't sure. He didn't know for sure that she could hold on, but he believed in her.

At a loss for words and strength, she just cried, shaking her head rapidly, disagreeing with his statement. Aang looked down at her sadly. He jumped across the arena to one again get out of the way of Kang-Dae and his father.

He gently let Katara relax in his arms, trying to bring her as less pain as possible. He wiped the sweat off of her forehead and kissed it, holding her close and trying to comfort her.

He looked down at her as he held her close, his arms wrapped around her. He had no idea where Kang-Dae was, nor did he care, he only cared about the girl in his arms. This backfired on him as Kang-Dae approached him from behind. He took his sword in his hand and swung it at Aang.

Thankfully, using his vibration-feeling technique that Toph had taught him, he was able to see the attack coming, but only a split second before it occurred. The sword sliced a cut into the curve right below Aang's shoulder.

"Ah!" Aang cried when the burning sensation filled his arm. He jumped out of the way so that the attack didn't cut off his arm. He gritted his teeth.

"Avatar!" Kang-Dae roared, "Are you going to just dodge my attacks, or are you going to fight like a man!" Aang gently laid Katara on the ground.

Aang gritted his teeth once more at him in anger and pain, but calmed himself, craning his head to look at Katara and looking down at her writhing form in concern. He placed his hand on her arm in a caring matter and she struggled to look at him.

"I'll be right back," he said, looking into her eyes as they cried, "Just…hold on….don't let go…"

She shakily nodded, closing her eyes tightly and continuing to grit her teeth against the pain.

Aang stood, taking one last look at the love of his life before turning to face her attacker. They began forming another energy attack, and Aang growled, "Oh no you don't!"

He rushed forward while using airbending to enhance his speed, he jumped into the air taking a large airball with him, smashing it down on them, breaking their concentration for the attack. Aang went after Kang-Dae first, the only thing on his mind being revenge.

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OoO

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After a few minutes of walking down the dimly lit tunnel, the troops stopped to rest, noticing that they were getting huge headaches.

"It's probably because we are so far down in the ground, the pressure is probably just getting to us," Sokka suggested from his seat against the wall.

"Most likely," Suki agreed, "But it could also be from that gas,"

"Maybe," Sokka agreed as well, standing up, "Everyone, we should start moving!"

The troops groaned as they stood, some of them grabbing their heads in slight pain. They began walking down the hall looking around their surroundings. Toph held on tightly to Sokka, still blind, tripping over many rocks as she stumbled across them. Sokka looked down at her.

"Can you still not bend?" He asked, concerned. Toph slowly nodded, more concentrating on trying to feel the vibrations in the ground.

Then he spoke to the troops, "Can anyone bend?"

There was a moment of silence as the various members of their group tried to bend their elements, but after they were done attempting they said, "No, the bending hasn't returned to us."

Sokka grunted in frustration, "Even if we do get back you all won't be able to bend so we'll all have to surrender, and by the way they treat their servants, and don't expect their prisons to be that nice."

Suki walked up to him, grabbing his shoulder and having him face her, "No, don't think like that. I know the bending will come back when we get back to the surface, er….the city grounds."

Sokka sighed, "I hope so, but we have to keep moving," he faced the troops, "Let's go everyone."

Suddenly Hakoda walked up to him as everyone started moving, "And remember Sokka, we all haven't had bending and we've taken out multiple firebenders. I'm sure we can do the same here."

Sokka smiled at his dad and looked down at his sword, "Yeah, I guess you're right, dad."

Hakoda patted his son's shoulder and walked back with the rest of the watertribe men. They continued moving, noticing that the hallway was leading downward…

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OoO

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"Hah!" Aang yelled as he formed flaming daggers in his hands and thrust them at the energybender prince. One hit him and he gasped in pain, jumping up and dodging the other.

Aang was furious. He wouldn't let **anyone **get away with hurting Katara. Anyone. He wanted to the use the Avatar State to finish the two of them off, finally protecting the world from any harm. He heavily considered it.

Suddenly, a sharp pain bit into the back of his skull. He grabbed at it quickly but noticed the pain faded, completely vanishing. Aang was left thoroughly confused, hardly missing the series of attacks shot at him by Kang-Dae.

Aang and the prince quickly jumped up and fought each other, aiming attacks at each other so fierce yet quick that they were hardly seen.

The king walked up to them and spoke completely calm to Kang-Dae, "I am going to check on the rest of our army to see if they have accomplished their task, my son, I presume you will be able to finish these two off?"

The two fighters broke apart and Kang-Dae turned to his father and king, "Yes, Father."

As the king walked off, Aang and Kang-Dae resumed their fighting, even fiercer this time. Aang hated having to fight, so once again, he thought about entering the Avatar State. The pain shot into his head again and he reeled back.

He suddenly didn't want to go into the Avatar State anymore, not wanting his head to hurt again. He didn't know what this pain was, but he didn't like it.

Aang flinched and turned to face Katara as she cried out loudly in pain, curling her body into a ball, wrapping her arms around her stomach and continuing to sob. He couldn't stand it, he clenched his hands into tight fists. He didn't care anymore. Whatever this pain was, he wouldn't let it come between him and getting Katara to safety.

He jumped backwards a long distance, having Kang-Dae have to run after him.

Aang concentrated hard, focusing on all of the cosmic energy in the world. The pain from before pounded on his skull, and he winced in pain. Kang-Dae was gaining on him and with a large flash of his eyes, Aang was in the Avatar State. He bounded into the air and created an enormous ball of fire around him, the light in his eyes faded and he sent the ball crashing down on Kang-Dae.

Katara opened one eye, still in terrible pain, trying to focus on this large attack Aang was creating. She tried to smile, thinking that the fighting might end here. The smile turned into a mixture of pitiful, pained laughter and crying as she remembered her pain.

Kang-Dae watched in amazement and terror at this incredible power that Aang had displayed. As he saw the fire coming towards him, he was quick to try and dodge it. Finding it to no avail, he pointed both of his hands into the air, putting them into a praying position, ready to split the amazing sphere.

He stood, feet planted into the ground, arms pointed high. The fire hit his hands and began to split, but he feared that he wouldn't be able to cut it. He needed help. So, he concentrated on his inner energy and extracted it from his body, sending it out to fight the fire. Purple and green ribbons of light flared around his body and whipped at the fire, sending it back at Aang. Luckily, he saw the fire before it bounced back at him. He was in shock though about how the prince could deflect such a powerful attack.

Aang floated himself back down landing lightly, without a sound, on the rough floor of the battle arena. He stared down the prince, an angry, yet shocked expression on his face.

"What was that!" Kang-Dae shouted across the battlefield, "That was the most powerful surge of energy I've ever seen!"

Aang didn't answer, continuing his glare.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter, I _will _have that power!" He shouted also, rushing after Aang, almost growling, powerlust in his eyes. Aang stepped backwards, surprised by this sudden change of attitude. He looked over to Katara, seeing her once again curled into a ball, but this time, facing the fight. He saw her tightly clenched fists and eyes, and most of all, the pool of blood forming around her. His eyes widened and he looked at her with fear a concern.

Kang-Dae stopped and stared at Aang, until he noticed he was staring at Katara, he glanced over at her as well, a smirk on his face. He started twirling his fingers behind his back, "So, you're still trying to protect her, huh? Well, don't try it, she's gonna be gone soon."

Aang growled and muttered, "No, she'll make it…"

The prince smirked again with a small laugh, "Well then, let's see if she can dodge this."

Aang's eyes widened as Kang-Dae sent a previously charged blast of energy at the wounded girl across the arena. Katara opened her eyes as she felt the bright blast coming towards her. Her eyes widened and she struggled to role onto her stomach to attempt to crawl away.

Aang took this opportunity to bound into action.

Katara cried out when she landed on her stomach, taking a moment to lay there gasping in pain. She desperately tried to pull herself forward to avoid the attack, but it was futile. She turned to the large ball of energy and closed her eyes, preparing for the blast to kill her.

Suddenly, Aang jumped down, mere seconds before she was hit, scooping her up in his arms and jumping away, avoiding each attack towards them. He held her close as she clutched to him for dear life, crying into his shoulder.

When Kang-Dae stopped to catch his breath, Aang slowly looked down at Katara. "Katara…." He said in a soft whisper, "Katara, can you hear me?"

The girl in his arms slowly and painfully lifted her head to meet his eyes, she nodded at the same speed before she broke into a coughing fit. Blood spurted from her mouth and stained her clothes and splattered Aang's chest. "S-sorry…" She muttered, a look of fear in her eyes.

Aang looked at her sadly, "No, no, Katara, it's alright, I don't care about it, I only care about you…" He held her closely, turning his head to see if Kang-Dae was following them yet.

The prince was bent over, clutching his knees, obviously worn out from the fighting. He would be out for a few minutes at most.

The monk turned back to Katara and saw that her face was paler than it usually had been.

He feared the worst.

He cupped her cheek in his hand and made her face him. To his surprise and happiness, her eyes were still open, she was still alive, but she was still crying with the same weakness and pain as she had since it happened. The girl turned her face into his chest, nuzzling there. "I…I-I can't, Aang…"

"What?" Aang asked softly, placing his hand on the back of her head to comfort her.

"I c-can't do I-it…..I can't h-hold on, Aang…It hurts….t-too m-much…." She cried at the end, her body wracking with her coughing and her pained sobs.

Aang wrapped his arms around her shoulders and bent down to kiss her forehead, "Please, Katara….Hold on, for me…"

She didn't answer, she just held on tighter to him, crying out in pain. "I-it hurts," She cried over and over, "It hurts s-so b-b-bad…"

Aang didn't know what to do, she was in all of this pain and he couldn't even help her. He didn't have the faintest idea on what to do. He turned to look for Kang-Dae again and saw that he was still resting. If he wanted to, Aang could easily go and defeat him, right then and there, but he couldn't. He wouldn't hurt someone who was already down. He just wanted to get out of there with Katara, find a healer or build up her strength to heal herself.

He looked down at his hand, now covered in Katara's blood, tears started streaming down his cheeks. If he had only learned how to heal, Katara wouldn't have to be in so much pain. But she was in pain, and he couldn't help her…at all.

As he prepared to wrap his arms around her again, unsure of what else to do, his arms brushed against two small pouches that had been wrapped around his chest beneath his clothes. His eyes widened.

The spit darts.

The paralyzing darts.

Numbing.

His eyes had a hopeful shine in them again and he grabbed the bamboo shoot and a dart, dipping it into the paralyzing shirshu saliva. He carefully laid Katara down, but she didn't question it, she was in too much pain to feel anything.

Aang peeled off his robes from Katara's stomach, seeing the profusely bleeding wound through the rip in her clothes, he almost gagged at the sight again, but remembered the importance of what he was doing. He knew it was going to hurt her, but only for a split second, then the numbness would kick in. He raised the bamboo shoot to his lips and looked at her one last time before shooting the dart right next to her wound.

"AH!" She cried out, biting her lip and curling into a ball, clutching her stomach. A few seconds later though she gently laid back, her arms still clutching her abdomen, but it seemed as if the dart lessened her pain. He slowly grabbed for the dart now resting slightly in her skin, quickly pulling it out.

Katara made a small squeak of pain but continued to lay there as her stomach continued to bleed her out. He scooped her into his arms again. She started to breathe slower.

Aang really began to worry then.

He turned once more to Kang-Dae and it seemed as though he was just watching the show now. A boy so in love with a girl that he would do anything for her, even though it was pointless. He scowled at the prince and he just chuckled.

He saw in the distance the same dragon-horse that had carried the three kids earlier. It flew down with the kids and the three jumped off, running over to the couple.

"Aang! Aang! The troops! They're gone! I don't know where they went but they're not there! We can only see the Energybender people!" Buyou shouted, breathing hard after running so quickly to Aang.

He looked down at Katara, and instantly freaked out, "What happened?"

Aang looked at him and said sadly and fearfully, "Katara's been hurt…"

Usagi ran up, "Katara!" She cried, running and sitting next to the couple, putting her hands on Katara's shoulder. The small girl shook it to rouse the wounded teen.

Katara groaned and turned to the little girl, she gave a faint smile, "D-don't worry, it'll be fine…"

Usagi started to cry, noticing the pool of blood, she stared in shock at it and whimpered in fear, looking over to the man who was now approaching them, obviously now recovered.

Aang noticed this and his heart started to pound. He jumped up, Katara still in his arms, she gave a small yelp of pain at the sudden movement. Aang quickly whispered 'sorry' to her. He turned to the kids, "Run! Get out of here! Quickly! Get Sokka and have him come and help! Bring the troups!"

Buyou nodded, fear in his eyes. If Aang was so worried, then it must be bad.

He and the other kids ran to their horse, jumping on and commanding it to fly. Aang tightened his grip on the girl in his arms, quickly waiting for the kids to fly away. When they were out of sight, he turned to Kang-Dae and glared at him. "Stop this Kang-Dae! We don't have to fight!" He let his airbender instincts do the talking for him as he tried to settle things.

"But I love a good fight, Avatar," Kang-Dae smirked, taking a stance with his sword. His father walked into the arena, smirking as well, walking up behind his son.

"Kang-Dae, I see that you've done well in keeping our enemies busy. Is the girl dead yet?" He spoke, looking over at the motionless girl in Aang's arms.

Aang looked down at Katara and saw that she had passed out. He looked at her worriedly, but saw that she was faintly breathing and reassured himself.

"No, not yet, I don't think, Father," Kang-Dae frowned, crossing his arms over his chest, "But not for long."

Aang growled, "NO! You're not laying one more hand on her!" He prepared to jump, knowing that they would try to attack him. They created many bursts of fire and send them at him. He dodged each one. When the blasts stopped, he laid Katara down on the ground where she started to moan in pain. The numbness must have stopped. Aang grunted, annoyed that the dart didn't help more.

He prepared to pull out another to help with Katara's pain when a whip of fire danced across his back quickly. It didn't burn him, it just stung. He flinched and faced the oncoming men.

He took water from the air and had it encircle him as he ran towards the men, ready to attack. Kang-Dae and his father were in their stances to fight Aang.

With a clash of both bending and sword, the remainder of the battle began.

Katara heard the clinging of the sword hitting the different bended objects. She winced with each cling because it hurt her ears and reminded her of the sword that had caused the injury that was causing her so much pain. She felt extremely lightheaded, and every muscle in her body ached. Her side was filled with extraordinary pain and she could hardly move.

She watched the battle taking place before her and she looked at Aang with concern and fear in her eyes, not wanting to see him get hurt. Suddenly the pain in her side peaked and she cried loudly in pain.

Aang turned to her and looked at her with all of the concern, fear, and love that he could contain, muttering her name, "Katara…"

Kang-Dae was in front of him within seconds, fighting him off as he tried to concentrate on Katara and fighting at the same time. He had to make sure she wouldn't let go. He loved her too much to let her go so soon.

Aang didn't see it, but Katara did. Kang-Dae's father was approaching Aang from behind, slowly moving so that he wouldn't hear him. She gasped slightly as she saw the king start jogging towards him, ready to use a final strike to take down Aang.

"N-no…" She muttered, struggling to get up onto her elbows so that her arms could move. She moved her arm up as quickly as she could and felt the power in her veins. The pain of being in this position was excruciating but she had to help Aang.

Kang-Dae jumped back but held his sword high above his head, ready to initiate their planned attack. Aang scowled at him and readied himself to deflect Kang-Dae's move.

The king behind him came closer. Kang-Dae started swiping at Aang with his sword and Aang stayed in place, but dodged or blocked the many attacks.

Katara looked, eyes wide, at the battle, knowing she had to hurry. With much pain, she held her hand up and concentrated on the two energybenders blood…

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OoO

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"Aren't we trying to get _out _of the ground?" Zuko complained, getting tired of the ground and the annoying popping in his ears.

"Yes, but you have to remember that I have absolutely no idea where we're going, Zuko," Sokka said, also annoyed, "I'm going by my instincts here."

"And when has that ever been a good thing?" Toph laughed, in a sarcastic tone, still clinging to Sokka for guidance.

"You know, if I was really mean I'd break away from you and leave you bumping into everything…"

"But you're not, so I don't have anything to worry about!" Toph laughed again, throwing her other arm into the air.

"Grrr," Sokka said, clearly defeated, but he stopped walking for two reasons. One, they had come to a dead end with a strange design carved into it, along with the words "**IT ENDS HERE.**" . Two, he heard something behind everyone. He turned to face the rest of the troops because he was in front, looking past them. The muffled noise grew louder and began sounding like streaming water. He stared strangely at the hallway until he saw what was making the noise.

Water.

His eyes widened and he stepped back, turning towards the dead end.

_They were trapped._

He watched as the water gushed down the hall at a fast pace. He then knew that the Energybenders had this demise for them planned out step by step. The underground room. The trap door. The hallway. And now the grand finale. Death by drowning.

He gulped and pounded his fists on the wall that ended the hallway they were in. The water rushed so fast that the tunnel was filling fast.

"Sokka! Sokka!" Toph yelped from a short distance, making Sokka realize that she had let go.

Sokka ran up to her and grabbed onto her arms, "Just hold onto me and when the water gets to high, just keep you're head above water, okay?" Sokka panicked and said. She hesitantly nodded and Sokka noticed how innocent she could be at times.

"Sokka? What do we do!" Suki called to him, placing her hands on the wall, hoping for an answer. The water rose to her knees.\

"I…I'm not sure…." Sokka feared the worst, looking and seeing that the water was still rising, and showing no signs of stopping.

He thought about just having the troops run back up the flooded tunnel, but he realized that that wouldn't be possible due to the large amount of water rushing down the slope. He grunted and turned back to the wall. He needed his instincts to kick in, now more than ever.

Then, out of the corner of his eye he spotted metal beams holding up the tunnel they were in. He studied them closely and a hopeful smile appeared on his face. "That's it!" He whispered.

Suki questioned him, but was more focused on the quickly rising water that now was up to her waist. The troops were struggling in the water, the force of it being very strong. Toph held onto Sokka for dear life, she was extremely scared of the water, "Suki, somehow we have to break down this door!" Sokka said to her.

"But, what if this is just a wall, then there would be no reason to even try. How do you know?" Suki asked, pushing on the wall.

"I know because look at those metal beams up there. See all that rust? Metal doesn't get that much rust in a week! They've only known we were coming for a week, so these tunnels must have already been made." He punched the door with the side of his fist twice to emphasize the next two words he said, "_This door _was built this week, so we just need to break it down. Help me tell the troups!"

"Okay!" She replied, splashing through the water towards everyone.

"Toph, jump onto my back, I have to move around," Sokka said, grabbing her arms and trying to get her onto his back. She quickly jumped up and held on as Sokka began telling everyone.

As the couple told the troops, more and more people started push against the door, desperately trying to open it. The water rose higher and higher and the soldiers pushed and pushed, but finding it to no avail. The water now lurked around Sokka's neck and it became harder and harder to keep Toph above the water.

The footing for them had long-since left and now the room was filled with the numerous people trying to stay above water.

Sokka handed Toph over to Pipsqueak and the Duke, who were finding it easier to stay above water because of Pipsqueak's massive height. Sokka dove underwater, his instincts telling him something else now. He pulled out his sword and swam to one side of the door, looking for any sort of hinge.

Bubbles flew from his mouth as he shouted "Yes!" underwater as he found the bronze hinge of the door. He swam back up and took a deep breath of air as he swam back down. Most of the soldiers had to swim to stay above water. Most had given up hope.

Sokka reached the hinge with his sword in hand, slowly pulling it closer to the hinge. He placed the tip of the ultra-sharp sword against it and started twisting a scraping at it, hoping to break it. The need to breathe became too much so he came back up, noticing that only two feet of air was left. He breathed in deeply, going back under, but this time, Suki followed.

She saw what Sokka was trying to accomplish so she helped him out, pulling out her own dagger and going after the hinge as well. Together they cut down it, both coming up for air at the same time. There was a little less than a foot of air left, and that was when Sokka too became aware that this might be the end. He breathed in deeply again, as well as Suki, and dove back under, wanting to finish off this hinge.

With one last swipe, the two of them were able to cut through the tough metal and break the seal on the door. With a strange popping noise, the door slowly began sliding forward. Sokka looked at it, hoping his instincts were right.

Suddenly a crack became visible in the side of the door and water started flooding out. Sokka and Suki swam backwards, not necessarily wanting to get sucked in. They floated up to the remaining inches of air, seeing most of them people in the flooded room holding onto the metal beams on the ceiling to stay above water. Sokka looked over and saw Toph holding on to one, extremely freaking out. They saw the air space growing and growing as more water and more water slipped into the crack. Sokka dove underwater and saw the crack growing in size. The door was creaking open and with a large boom and the rushing of rapid water, the door collapsed against the pressure of the water.

The troops were flushed with the water into the remaining part of the tunnel, most of them spinning and twirling as the water tossed them in every direction. They slid to a stop, only around a foot of water remaining that fled over their bodies. They shot themselves upward and coughed, finally raising themselves out of the water.

"Well," Suki sighed, "That was an adventure…"

"No kidding," Toph agreed, shivering and wiping as much water as she could from her body, "I never want to even go near water, ever again…"

Sokka nodded, "We'll try and stay away from water from now on." He wiped the water from his face and he grew serious again, walking up the tunnel's path as the other soldiers got up. He stopped and turned around.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked the group, his answer was multiple "yes" and "yeah" answers.

He nodded once more and continued to walk up the path, having everyone follow him. After minutes of walking, a small speck of light shown through the now pitch black path they were walking in. They smiled and started jogging up the tunnel, the light growing larger with each step.

As they approached the end of the tunnel, though, they began to hear noises. They slowed their footsteps down to inaudible steps, a few people going near the opening and listening to the voices they heard.

"Yeah, they let the water in about 10 minutes ago, they should be long gone by now," a voice said, followed by snickers from the men. There were probably three standing there.

Sokka peeked his head through the opening of the tunnel and saw the men standing by a table, drinking streaming cups of tea. He scowled at them.

Ducking his head back out of sight, he motioned for rest of the troops to slowly shuffle forward.

He peered over again, seeing the men, not wanting to kill them. So, he slid his sword strap off of his shoulder and took a hold of the sheath and prepared to jump out and knock the men unconscious. He waited until they were deep in a conversation.

"I don't think we even need to watch for them, there's no way they survived."

"Yeah, let's go back home."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Even though they couldn't have, the boss would murder us if we bailed. Let's just stay until he kills the avatar and his girlfriend, then we'll go home, okay?"

"Sure, fine, whatever."

Sokka growled angrily when one of the men mentioned Aang and Katara dying. He held his sheath ready in his hand and jumped out, rushing forward as the other soldiers followed him. He whacked one of the men across the head, knocking him out then shoving his sheath into the stomach of another. The man reeled back and Sokka whacked him on the head. He turned to see the last man tackled and beaten up and unconscious as well. He smirked and jogged to the door of the small house they were in. He slowly cracked the door open and saw the energybender guards walking in a large group down the road, laughing in victory.

"We just have to wait until the boss takes down the Avatar and the other girl and our victory will be secured! Then we'll be able to finally return to the surface!" A man in the front of the group announced, raising his fist in the air, earning a response of joy from the other men.

Sokka frowned and silently closed the door, twisting his body to look at the back of the room. He scanned the room for another exit and was happy to see a back door. Without making a sound, Sokka motioned for the troups to follow him out the back door.

He slowly opened the door, thankful that it didn't creak, and tip-toed out. When everyone was outside, they stood hidden behind a corner, ready to ambush the soldiers. Suddenly, the kids flew down, terror on their faces. They jumped off the horse and ran to Sokka, Suki, Toph, Zuko, and Mai.

"Aang and Katara!…They're fighting the energybending people!…Katara!…She's hurt!" Buyou gasped, out of breath from being so terrified.

Sokka went wide-eyed, "What? She's hurt? What happened?"

"Well, umm, we're not fully sure, but there's a lot of blood!" Noboru spoke, his eyes very scared. He looked traumatized.

Usagi just cried in fear.

Sokka turned back to the guards they were to ambush and glared at them, but he was uneasy. If Katara was hurt, and there was a lot of blood…What happened? He contemplated going on with their quickly made plan and looked down sadly, turning his body to face the large arena on the horizon.

"We're going back for them. We're going to help."

.

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OoO

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Katara cried, the pain growing as the numbing dart's properties wore off, tears streamed down her face and she groaned in pain, her fingers feeling the men's blood. She smiled in accomplishment, but the elbow holding her upper body up collapse due to her weakness and pain, she gritted her teeth and concentrated on the men's blood again.

She felt the power dance on her finger tips and she saw the king rush to kill Aang, raising his arm that carried a large dagger. Kang-Dae smirked and went after the thirteen year old as well with his now-flaming sword.

"N-no!" Katara cried, grasping control of their bodies as their weapons lingered inches from Aang, now-frozen in place.

"What? What sorcery is this? I cannot move!" Kang-Dae shouted. Aang heard the grunts from the king behind him as he attempted to break free of the strange imprisonment. He spun around and saw the king their, mere seconds away from killing him. He jumped backwards, staring at them and wondering what was happening.

His eyes widened as he came to a realization.

"Katara…!" He whispered, spinning around to face his injured girlfriend as she struggled greatly to keep her arms in control of the energybenders. She winced as she attempted to smile at him. He ran towards her and she groaned, her bending of them being so that he could attack them head on.

He slid on his knees to her and flipped her over gently, cradling her in his arms.

The bloodbending stopped and Katara laid back painfully. She looked up at Aang and attempted another smile but it was ruined by her loud cry of pain. The dart's powers officially wore off.

Kang-Dae gasped as the bloodbending stopped and looked onward towards Aang and Katara. "That power…."

"Oh, here!" He smiled, reaching for the spit darts, Katara looked painfully, yet hopefully at him. Though, when he grabbed for them-

"Looking for these?

Aang quickly snapped his head around to face them, pure anger in his eyes. He turned the rest of his body around and stood up, still holding his wounded girlfriend as she cried into his chest, every few seconds either moaning or crying out.

"Give them back! NOW," Aang yelled, looking furiously at Kang-Dae. His eyes looked like he was in the Avatar State, but without the glowing.

Katara looked slightly fearfully up at him, coughing as she struggled to breathe.

"She NEEDS those. Give. Them. Back."

Kang-Dae just smirked.

Aang gritted his teeth and planted his feet, tighting his grip on Katara and preparing to sprint forwards. Kang-Dae's face contorted in anger, "I WILL HAVE THAT POWER!" His face was wild.

Aang jumped into the air, careful to keep Katara still so as not to injure her more. She was getting dizzy though, so she planted her head on Aang's chest, using it as a pillow. She felt her eyes close and she drifted into unconsciousness.

With a mighty kick of his leg, Aang kicked a humungous blast of fire and air at Kang-Dae. He blocked it with earthbending and kicked the wall of earth upwards towards Aang and Aang jumped onto it, planting his feet on it. Due to the pressure of the wall's speed, Aang struggled to stay kneeling, but his determination to keep Katara safe kept him from falling.

His face was near hers because the pressure brought his neck down. He looked sadly at her as he saw that she was unconscious. The wall still flying, but now going backwards (making it hard for Aang to stay upright), Aang peeked over to edge just in time to see Kang-Dae fire a large blast of flames at the exact location the wall would drop.

Aang wouldn't let Katara get hurt, so he jumped off of it backwards, flying into the air. He twisted the hand holding Katara under her legs around to bend the wall down into the ground. He landed directly behind the wall, using it as a large shield as the fire hit it. Fire erupted from either sides of the shield, some even flared over the top.

Aang was crouched down, holding Katara closely to him as the fire passed. He kissed her forehead and felt for her pulse, needing to know that she was alive. When he felt the small pulse, he smiled, happy she was still alive.

Her eyes slowly opened and she muttered, "Aang…"

Aang looked at her sadly and grasped her hand, "Katara, shh, please don't talk, you hardly have any energy as it is….. Why did you do that?…"

"Th-they were going…going to kill you…" She whispered, closing her eyes. She whimpered as blood slid down the side of her mouth. Aang gasped.

"Katara! Katara, are you alright?" He asked quickly, taking her face in his hands.

She hesitantly nodded and nuzzled her face into his chest once more, not speaking.

Aang looked at her sadly and wiped the blood from her mouth, surprised and worried as he saw more trickle down. He heard cracking from behind him and saw the earthen wall falling apart due to the fire burning it away. He stood up and faced the wall shield, slowly backing away. If he moved away from the wall, he and Katara would get burned and die.

The wall exploded and a large rumbling was heard. He spun around, his back to the approaching fire and rocks, a futile attempt at keeping Katara safe.

Kang-Dae and his father bent a large blast of red energy to join the fire and rocks in attacking Aang and Katara. Out of nowhere, the ground beneath Aang shot up, sending him flying backwards into the sky. The force of the energy, fire, and rocks hit his back and he lost his grip on Katara.

Suddenly, she was out of his arms, flying due to the force hitting her as well.

Aang gasped as he flew and cried, "KATARA!"

The next thing he knew he was crashing against his side on one of the pillars holding up the walls of the arena. He struggled to get up, the pain in his side burning. He knew Katara was in more pain than he was and he willed himself to accept the pain, standing up and running through the now smoke filled area.

"Katara!" He choked out, trying to breathe in the smoky area. He figured that part of the wall collapsed and the dust was covering everything. "Katara!" he shouted again, clearing away a space using his airbending. He saw some rubble in the clearing and saw Katara's hand, his eyes widened and he freaked out. "Katara!" He ran and tossed the rock on her arm off, clearing away the rest of her body. Thankfully, the rest of her body was only covered in a few small rocks and dust.

She was whimpering in pain and there were tear stains through the dust covering her face.

"Katara…" He gently lifted her shoulders off the ground as she attempted to sit up.

"Ah-ah!" Katara cried, "S-stop! Stop!"

Aang was dumbfounded, but he laid her back down gently again. "Katara, what hurts, tell me everything that is hurting you." He brushed some hair from her face.

"M-my…my stomach…e-everywhere around m-my stomach….and my arm…" She murmured, laying her hand softly on the bloody cloths the covered her wound. She whimpered and tried to relax her body, finding pain in every movement.

"Oh, Katara…" Aang cried softly, stroking her cheek.

He turned around and tried to look through the fading smoke and dust, hoping not to find Kang-Dae near them.

He looked at the awkward position she landed in and said, "You can't possibly be comfortable. I saw a flat rock over there that you could lean against," He looked in the direction of the rock, "It might be more comfortable, but I know it hurts to move…so I'll do whatever makes you feel comfortable."

Katara cried for a moment, imagining the flat rock, she slowly nodded, looking at Aang sadly, as if her hope had run out. Aang hated seeing her like this. He just wanted her pain to end.

Across the arena, Kang-Dae and his father stood, looking at the slowly dispersing dust cloud where Aang and Katara landed.

"That girl does not have much time left. She has lost too much blood, it's amazing she was even alive for this long," Kang-Dae's father spoke.

Kang-Dae huffed, "Yeah, and then we'll have no one to stop us from killing the Avatar. Our victory will be sealed. That stupid girl, displaying that amazing power. She took control of us, Father, and I will acquire that power. With it, we shall take control of the surface and finally get our revenge on the Avatar's people."

"You seem to have the upper hand in this battle, my son, would you be willing to finish it so that I may give the troops their instructions?" His father continued.

"Indeed, Father, I shall," Then he laughed, "It shouldn't be to hard, the boy's is already weakened in both body and mind."

His father smiled and nodded, "Well then, I shall meet up with you when the deed is done. I'll make a force field when I leave so that they cannot escape and none of their friends could come and save them."

Kang-Dae nodded and laughed in response, "If any of their friends survived the tunnel trap. Unlikely." The two men laughed.

Kang-Dae watched as his father once more left the arena. The almost clear force field shot up in a large dome over the arena. He smirked and looked towards the dust cloud, seeing the silhouettes of Aang and Katara in the haze. He began slowly walking towards them.

After a few tries, Aang was able to successfully pick up Katara without hurting her too much. He assumed she must have broken or fractured a few ribs in the impact. He set her down against the rock and she tried to relax, not wanting to bring more stress to her body.

Aang was surprised at how much this wound was doing to her. He didn't expect it to me comfortable or in any way good feeling. He knew she was in pain. Agonizing, excruciating pain. But she could hardly move as well. It was as if the wound was cutting off her connections to the rest of her body, making it extremely hard to move or concentrate.

Katara finally was able to relax a bit, but the pain still bit into her side like crazy. She laid their, tears still streaming down her cheeks as Aang ripped of bits of his pants to use as extra cloth for the wound, tying his belt around them as well.

Unfortunately, her slight comfort did not last. All of a sudden, a blast of energy came out of the small cloud that remained from the collapse of that wall. Aang had to think fast, but he knew what his first priority was.

Katara.

He scooped her up, causing her to cry out in pain, dodging the blast and the ones that followed. He looked down at Katara and saw that her breathing was slower than it had been. He saw that even though her eyes were open, she was in a daze, and her eyes were unseeing. She slowly fingered his chest, trying to stay awake and keep blood flowing through them.

After a minute or so, the shots stopped coming. Aang turned to face Kang-Dae. If looks could kill….

"Here, I'll tell you what. I'll give you a few minutes with you're girlfriend as she passes. I'm not completely heartless. Just mostly. So, you can just rest up for lets say…five minutes. And then our battle will continue." Kang-Dae smirked and said, spinning on his heels and walking away.

Aang made a sound of aggravation, but he was fine with this idea. He wanted to spend time with Katara now. But he didn't like Kang-Dae speaking of Katara's death. He heard a strange zap come from the sky, but he paid no heed to it, only focusing on Katara.

He turned back to Katara just in time to see her start biting her lip, trying to hold back tears. She looked at her hands, which rested lightly on her abdomen. Aang plopped down on his knees to hold her easier.

"He's….H-he's right…."

Aang looked down at her, confused, "What?"

"I'm…I'm not going to m-make it…Theres…N-no way…" She murmured, not meeting Aang's eyes as she gritted her teeth and tried to bare the extreme pain in her side. She couldn't get tears to form, it was as if she was dried up.

"No, Katara, you're going to survive, you're stronger than that," Aang said, new tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Aang…-Aah!-….I can't move…and I c-can't hardly…breathe-Ah!…" She cried, "I'm not….n-not as strong as…as you th-think I am…" She bit her lip to the point of drawing blood, if there was any left.

"I'm so cold…" She muttered, and she once again nuzzled into his chest.

Aang looked down at her, noticing how pale her skin has become. The blood was almost completely drained from her face, and whatever blood remained trickled down from the side of her mouth. Her face was heavily tearstained and her eyes were blood shot. Her hands twitched from the cold she faced. Her lips trembled as well as she cried, bit her lip, and tried to speak to Aang. He looked down and saw the extremely bloodstained cloths that covered her wounded side. He saw the-

"I'm scared…"

Katara had started bawling moments before speaking again, she clutched at his chest and sobbed, the supposedly dried up tears coming back full force as she made this statement.

Aang's eyes widened and his mouth was left agape. He felt the tears on his cheeks slide down faster than they ever had. His heart broke in two as he heard her say that. Never had he ever heard her so innocent sounding. She sounded completely out of hope. Wasn't this the same girl who gave him hope almost every day for the past year? The same girl who brought all of the joy into his life after he found out what happened to his people? This was the same girl, but it was as if all of her hope….vanished.

Without answering, Aang bawled as well, wrapping his arms tightly yet gently around her and holding her close. "It's going to be okay, Katara, don't worry! You don't have to be scared….We'll make it through this….just hold on, please…"

"I'm…I'm s-sorry, A-aang…."She cried. There was a silence between them and Aang lost track of the time.

"A-aang?" His wounded girlfriend spoke, pure innocence lurking in her voice.

"Yes, Katara? What do you need? Anything," Aang answered

"Kiss me…" She spoke slowly, making sure she said it loud enough for Aang to hear. She raised her left hand to rest on his right shoulder. Aang felt how uneasy she was just my feeling her pale, cold, touch.

"What?" Aang asked, stroking her cheek lovingly, but wondering why she wanted a kiss right now. She should be using her energy to stay alive, not kiss him.

"K-kiss me….please…" She spoke again, quieter this time as she looked him in the eyes, her eyes sparkling with tears, "I want…I w-want to have a….a good ending….to m-my life, A-aang…."

"Katara, please! You're not going to die! Please don't say that! Have a little faith that you'll survive! Because you will!" He cried, slightly shaking her to get this horrible thought out of her mind.

"Please…." She whispered, trailing off as she felt herself loosing consciousness. She struggled to stay awake.

At a loss of what to say or do, Aang looked at her sadly, but with all the concern, compassion, care, worry, fear, and most of all love that he could possibly muster. He leaned down and cupped her cheek in his hand. He bit his lip before getting an inch or so from her lips.

The two met in a small, gentle kiss, not intending for it to be passionate or heated. The kiss lingered as the two tried to show their every feeling for one another, while still being soft and compassionate to each other.

Aang could taste as the metallic flavor of blood seeped into his lips. As much as this sickened him, he loved Katara, and he would let her enjoy this if this was truly their last few moments together.

The kiss was cut short as Katara pulled away, breaking into a coughing fit, blood spurting from her mouth. She cried and fell back into Aang's arms. She started shaking her head and tears slipped rapidly from her eyes. She opened her eyes, which she never realized closed, and looked up at Aang, biting her lip.

"I c-can't….I can't feel…anyth-thing…," Katara whispered, in a painful daze, "B-but pain…" Aang cried harder, kissing her forehead repeatedly.

Kang-Dae smirked from a distance behind them, "You know, Avatar," Kang-Dae said, the smirk being heard in his voice, "I could put her out of her misery in one quick blow if you'd like. That way we could get back to fighting."

This comment made Katara go silent, continuing to nestle her face into Aang's chest. Aang turned his head to face him and practically snarled at him. Kang-Dae looked at him in slight shock and said, "Fine, fine. Let her suffer. It's your choice. You only have a minute left."

Aang looked back down at her and contemplated what he said, _Fine, fine. Let her suffer._

That wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want her to suffer. But he didn't want her to die either. He kissed her forehead once more an lingered there before the girl in his arms began to speak, "Aang….I….I feel w-warm…." His eyes widened as she continued speaking.

"I see….a long path," She laughed as she looked up in a daze, ending her laughing with a few choked out coughs, "And….And there's flowers." She grinned.

"No….Please, Katara," Aang choked out, stroking a stray strand of hair from her face.

"It's s-so warm….So….warm…." She whispered over and over.

"Please…." He whispered to her, holding her hand.

Her eyes lost the twinkle in them and their normally bright cerulean blue color dulled down to a pale blue. She remained smiled though with a slightly open mouth, the blood from the side of her mouth trickling down quicker. "So th-this is what death is like…" She murmured, fingering Aang's chest again as she tried to keep the blood flowing.

"It's n-nice…" She finished, the grin on her face fading as she lost the power to even hold up a smile.

"No, Katara, please don't leave…please stay with me…I can't live without you...!" Aang cried, not caring if Kang-Dae heard the weakness in his voice.

"N-no…Aang…I can't…I can't hold on any longer…I'm ready to go…" Katara said in barely a whisper, her eyes lidded, and her breath shallow.

Aang bit his lip to the point of bleeding as he watched her eyes close as she made that statement. _I'm ready to go… _

Her eyes suddenly shot open as she experienced a quick jab of pain as her heart slowed and her lungs stopped breathing. She used the last ounce of breath in her body to tell Aang, "I…-gasp- love-you…A-ang…."

Her heart stopped beating.

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OoO

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"Come on! We have to hurry!" Sokka yelled to his troops, "Katara's hurt!"

The soldiers moved as fast as they could towards the arena, following Sokka, but suddenly he stopped. He turned to his soldiers and looked at their massive group.

He thought to himself, _We're going to be seen if we have such a huge group…_ He looked over towards where the doors to the whirlpool lie. He made his announcement, "Everyone! I have realized that we are not going to have the element of surprise if we have such a large group, what we need to do right now is get most of you guys out of here. So I am going to ask for the following people to join me, but the rest should go: Suki, Toph, Zuko, Mai, and the kids."

Hakoda looked up at his son and wished to participate in saving Katara from whatever danger she was in. But, he knew Sokka was a man now, and he needed to experience leadership. So, whatever Sokka said, he would go with it.

The large mass of people left waited for orders from Sokka, "The rest of you, go back to the submarine and get out of here. Bring the horses along with you. Take out every group of guards you see. Also, the guards by the exit are strong and well armored, so be careful and stealthy. Is that clear?"

A variety of 'yes's were heard and Sokka nodded, turning on the balls of his feet and jogging the rest of the way with the small part of Team Avatar on his heels. They looked at the large arena and heard a crash and a large cloud of dust rise into the air.

"What was that?" Sokka asked, even though he was pretty sure none of them would know.

"I don't know, but lets hope for Katara and Aang's sake that they just successfully attacked Kang-Dae," Suki spoke, running alongside Sokka.

After a few minutes of running, they realized how huge this city was. No matter how fast they ran, it only seemed like they had gone a short distance. They stopped for a moment to rest and spotted a figure walking down the street. They hid behind conveniently placed barrels as the bearded man passed.

"That's Kang-Dae's father," Sokka whispered after he passed.

"What does that mean? Why would he leave?" Zuko questioned, looking angrily at the man.

Sokka sighed, "I know this isn't a positive thought, but I think that he left because he wasn't needed…"

"What do you mean, Sokka?" Suki asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well…Since Katara is probably out of the battle now, sitting on the sidelines most likely, that only leaves Aang. Aang is a wreck when Katara's hurt, even just a little, and if there's a lot of blood…well….I don't think Aang's going to be fighting that good…" He spoke quietly, his voice slightly loosing hope, "Kang-Dae's father is probably leaving because Aang is too weak to beat them both and if I know anything about these energybender people…it's that they love a good fight."

The others remained quiet, mentally agreeing with him.

When Kang-Dae's father finally turned the corner, the fraction of Team Avatar jumped out and started sprinting towards the arena.

Sokka started speaking again, huffing as he spoke from running so fast, "When we get there…we're going to get Katara and Aang…out of there…We'll come back…when Katara's fine…then we'll show them what…Team Avatar's really made of!"

The rest of them smiled, agreeing with his plan. "Should we call Appa?" Toph suggested, "That way we can get out of here quicker."

"Ooh, yeah, right," Sokka agreed, pulling out the bison whistle that Aang used to carry, but had given Sokka in case of emergency. This could be considered as an emergency.

He blew the whistle and within seconds the bison shot into the sky and flew towards them. They all jumped on and flew along the ground to the arena. They prepared to fly into it when suddenly Appa was flung back with a large zap.

The group screamed and tried to keep a grip on Appa's saddle. Appa spun himself upright and tried to fly into the arena once more, slower this time. He jolted back as if he was shocked when he tried again.

"There's a force field…" Sokka muttered, clearly annoyed. They jumped off of Appa and looked into the arena from the walls. They saw Aang plop on the ground holding Katara.

"Oh my gosh, Katara looks dead!" Noboru shouted as he saw the limp girl in Aang's arms.

Sokka looked fearfully down at her and he bit hit lip, "I'm sure Aang's just being overly dramatic by holding her like that…"

"Maybe we can find a way in from the ground," Toph suggested, pointing towards the ground. The others agreed and climbed down, telling Appa to stay up there and try to hide. He went and hid behind a taller section of the wall that was above the gates that opened the place.

They got on the ground and Toph stood there, looking slightly worried about something. She felt along the ground and then stood up, "Guys…" She said.

"What?" The responded, looking intently at her, expecting her to speak.

"Umm…Katara's heartbeat is pretty small…." She whispered, causing Sokka to slightly freak out.

"B-but it's still there right!" He questioned, grabbing her shoulders.

"Yeah, but-,"

"No, that's what I'm going with, okay? She's still alive, so we don't have to worry." Sokka convinced himself, looking around for a door. They all saw a gatehouse and ran up to it, upset when they saw the metal gates closed.

"Wait…Is your guys' bending back on?" Sokka asked, turning to all of them.

"Oh yeah, we haven't really checked," Zuko said, trying to form a flame in his hands, finding it to no avail, "Oh….no, it's not back yet."

"What about you, Toph?" Suki asked the blind girl.

Toph nodded, "I can only feel vibrations, how do you think I could feel Katara's heartbeat?"

"Oh, right," Suki muttered.

"Well, this stinks…" Mai muttered as well.

Sokka placed his hands on the bars of the gates, frustrated. He looked over at Aang, who was holding Katara.

"Guys…!" Toph said, sounding in a slight shock.

Sokka didn't pay attention to her. He watched Aang lean down to kiss Katara.

"Guys!" Toph shouted this time. He still didn't pay attention. He watched as Aang spoke to Katara and held her close. Suddenly, Aang looked stiff and afraid.

"SOKKA!" Toph yelled at him, forcing him to look at her.

"WHAT!" Sokka yelled back, obviously annoyed that she was yelling as he was trying to find out what was going on with Aang and Katara. He waited for her to speak.

"It's Katara…" She whispered, calmed down now.

Sokka quickly turned to look at Katara and Aang and saw Aang gently lower her to the ground, shakily. He spun back to Toph, tears in his eyes as he feared the worst, "Wh-what about her…?"

"She….She has no heartbeat…."

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OoO

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"K-katara?" Aang whispered, his voice cracking as he cried, "Katara…P-please answer me!…Please!"

He looked down at her blank motionless face, "No…Katara….You have to wake up…" He shook her shoulders, but only slightly, he didn't want to cause her pain. "Katara, please….please, please, please….Don't leave…." Emphasizing each please with his shakes.

Katara didn't move. She didn't breathe. She didn't speak.

Aang reached his hand out to lift up her eyelid. Part of him knew she was playing with him, and she was just going to spook him by suddenly waking up and yelling, "Boo!", and the other part knew that this was not a joke. She was dead. She had left him.

He looked at her motionless eye that that did not respond to any movement he made, he closed it and held her close, but didn't look at her. He couldn't bear it, "No…" He whispered, finally realizing what had happened.

"So, she's finally dead, huh?" Kang-Dae chuckled, "It's about time, she was beginning to annoy me with her screams." He smirked, "You're time's up, Avatar."

Aang was filled with anger and hatred towards Kang-Dae. He gently laid Katara's limp, motionless body on the ground, looking down at her face.

_Nothing's going to happen. We're all going to be fine, Aang._

Katara's voice rang through his head, telling him the lie that she had told him. The worst thing that could ever happen to him happened, and they weren't all fine. She was **dead**. Gone. Everything Katara had ever told him rang through his already aching head.

_I'll protect you. No matter what, Katara._

_I know you will, and that's what I love about you. _

He had lied to her, too. He promised he'd protect her..that nothing would happen to her. He was going to keep her safe, but look what he had got himself into. He leaned over, his arms forcefully digging into the ground with his fists, which were growing tighter and tighter.

_I…love-you…A-ang…_

Her last words to him sent him over the edge, tears flooding down his face. She used her last breath to tell him how she felt about him. Even though they had already gotten to the 'love' part of their relationship, just knowing that she would struggle on her last breath just to tell him she loves him.

"We should probably get back to fighting now that that girl is out of the way, gosh, she was such a bother," Aang heard Kang-Dae standing right behind him.

Aang opened his eyes, letting the salty tears slide down his cheek and slip into his mouth as he gritted his teeth, "No…" He whispered, hardly audible to Kang-Dae.

The prince smirked.

"You killed her…" He whispered in the same volume, his body beginning to shake with rage. His eyes were at a level of fury they had never been before. He felt himself go in and out of the avatar state. Never had he experienced this kind of power, not even during Sozin's Comet.

He felt the earth rumble beneath him and fire flared up around him and Katara in a circle along the ground. Kang-Dae stepped back in shock at this incredible power. Aang spun around and screamed-

"YOU KILLED HER!"

The winds around them picked up to hurricane speed and fire formed out of the air around them, the power itself cracked and shattered the force field around the arena. The ground cracked across the arena everywhere but where Katara laid and Aang crouched, facing the prince.

Aang's eyes and tattoos flashed in the brightest white they had ever been. Aang slowly stood, stretching his left arm towards Kang-Dae before moving his arms around in a complex manner, bending all of the air in the entire arena to his command.

He was in the avatar state.

But this time was different…He had no control.

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Sokka stared at Toph as she softly spoke the only words that could make him this scared, "She-…..No, no, that's not true. She has a heartbeat, I kn-know it, there's no way she couldn't. She's a strong girl…" He continued to ramble on, "You're feet must be inaccurate, don't lie to me!"

"Sokka!" Suki shouted, her eyes forming tears as well as she spoke to him, grabbing his shoulders, "She's not lying…look….look at Aang…."

They all turned to Aang as he sat there, his fists dug into the ground and his back hunched over the body that lay before him. By his shaking, it was clear that he was crying.

"No…It's not true…." Sokka continued, still not believing. They all felt the earth start to rumble and the air pick up to extreme speeds.

"YOU KILLED HER!" They heard the shout come from Aang as he controlled almost every element in the arena. They were almost blinded when Aang's eyes and tattoos flashed such an amazing shade of white. After a few moments, a gust of air shot in every direction, starting from where Aang and Katara were.

The gust slid through the bars of the gates and sent the seven teens and kids flying backwards. They skidded to a stop on the ground and the kids were quick to get up, running to the gates and watching in awe and amazement as they saw Aang perform a complex airbending move and rise into the air.

Aang slowly hovered into the sky, the air swirling around him, forming a large funnel around him. Katara remained lying lifeless on the ground, unaffected by the terrifying speed of the winds. Kang-Dae looked up at him in fear and amazement.

"Such power!" He exclaimed, stepping backwards in fear. He smirked though, regaining his footing and shot himself upwards into the air, using fire as rockets underneath his feet. He met the height of Aang and formed a spinning ring of fire on his hands. He flew towards Aang with it and prepared to burn Aang with it.

He reached out for Aang, bringing the fire with it. He intended for Aang to cry out in pain, but he found himself shouting out instead.

"Ah-ahhhh!" He yelled, his wrist in the grasp of Aang's hand, the fire from his hand fading into nothing. Aang's glowing eyes stared him down and Kang-Dae had trouble looking at him. Aang got inches from his face, holding his wrist so tightly that Kang-Dae couldn't move.

"You killed her…And now I will kill you…" The voice of all the past avatars spoke to him and quite frankly scared him to death. But Aang's voice was not in it…

Aang grasped his other hand on Kang-Dae's arm and started spinning around, taking the prince with him. After spinning a good ten seconds, Aang released him, sending him flying at super-speeds towards the other side of the arena.

Aang stared menacingly at him as he was flung off, he charged forward in a ball of air, much like the one he created during Sozin's Comet, appearing right in front of Kang-Dae. He grabbed the prince's leg this time and lifted his arm into the air, taking the now-vulnerable prince with him as he stared angrily forward. He flung the prince downward, smirking as he crashed to the ground, creating a huge cloud of smoke as he crashed into multiple buildings, sliding to a stop somewhere hundreds upon hundreds of feet away.

He remained hovering there for about a minute before realizing that he wasn't getting up anytime soon. The winds around him died and he slowly hovered down.

Sokka and the rest of them watched as Aang gently landed on the ground, looking extremely sad even though he was still in the avatar state. Aang turned slowly to walk towards the motionless girl on the ground. He kneeled down next to her and softly place his hand on her stomach, realizing the blood flow was slower.

He placed his hands beneath her upper back and under her legs, carefully picking her up.

He remained in the avatar state as he walked towards the gatehouse, holding his unresponsive girlfriend in his arms, tears staining his cheeks from his brightly shining eyes.

Sokka and the rest of the group back away in fear and shock as Aang set Katara gently down and walked up to the gates. He grasped the bars of it and with hardly any strength at all, crumpled the iron gates to either side.

His friends looked at him in fear.

He turned around and picked up Katara, starting to stumble forward as he began to exit the avatar state, his eyes and tattoos loosing the bright shine they had. The shine disappeared and Aang clumsily fell to his knees, not letting go of his tight grip on Katara.

"Sokka…I couldn't…..I couldn't save-," He began, but he was cut off short because he began crying again. He cried loudly, not caring about what his friends thought of him.

Sokka dropped to his knees and began crying as well, his head in his hands. Suki crouched next to him and rubbed his back. Even Zuko felt tears slide down his cheeks as he saw Katara's pale, lifeless face. Mai wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

Toph sat alone, tears sliding down her face as she realized her best friend was gone. Zuko looked over at her and opened his arm to her, inviting her to join in their mourning. She joined without hesitation and for the next few minutes, the eight of them mourned the loss of their good friend, sister, and girlfriend.

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_Where am I…?_

_What happened….?_

"_Katara?" A woman's voice appeared out of the darkness I was floating in. I looked around but didn't see anything. I tilted my head downwards, seeing a earthen path many feet below me. I smiled as lowered myself down onto it. I walked forward a few feet and a large meadow came into view. _

"_Katara?" Came the voice again. I looked around, wanting to know who this voice was and who this Katara person was. Was the voice calling to me? Am I Katara?_

_I looked around the meadow until finally I saw a woman in watertribe clothes walking towards me. I found myself muttering the word, "Mom…"_

_I ran towards her. Mom. She's my mom._

_The memories flooded back to me. Everything that had occurred that night and every day of my life before that came back to me. I remembered it all. _

"_Mom!" I shouted happily, jumping to embrace her, the tears sliding down my face, "Mom, I'm so happy to see you." _

"_Me too, Katara, I'm so glad I get to see you. You're so grown up now…" She spoke. _

"_I know…It's been seven years since I've seen you…" I murmured sadly, "But now you're back, or…I'm back…I'm dead now…"_

_My mom sighed, "But you shouldn't be…" She placed her hands on my shoulders. _

_I looked at her with a confused expression, "What do you-…" _

"_You shouldn't have died today, it wasn't you're time, you were going to grow up and have a family with that young man you love. He loves you too, so much…and you've left him…" She continued. _

_I looked at her sadly once more and drifted my gaze to the ground, she carried on, "You have a change, you know… A change to come back to the physical world with your friends."_

_I snapped by head up to face her, "What? No. I want to stay here with you!" Tears slid down her cheeks, "You don't mean that, Katara, you just cannot remember what you are giving up by coming here…"_

"_I know what I'm giving up…" I cried, though I did not, I could hardly remember anything. _

"_No, Katara," My mom grabbed me by the shoulders, "Think hard…Think hard about the Avatar, and remember how much he loves you. Think about your brother, and how much he cares for you. Think about your friends, and all that they would give up for you…I can't be all of those things, Katara. I love you, and I care for you, and I would give up anything for you, even my life, Katara! But you have to see that I am not those amazing people you have met, and you would be giving all of those things up just to see me…"_

_I was crying at this point, because I remembered now, everything. "H-how can I go back…?" I said after a long silence. _

"_You're friends are doing everything they can to bring you back, and though they do not know if they will succeed, they are still trying, and I believe in them. And if you believe in them as well, they will achieve their goal," She told me, still holding onto my shoulders as I cried._

_Then she warned me, "It is still your choice, but I advise you to go and live your life as happily as you can. Though when you are brought back, you will be in pain, because your physical self has not healed like your spiritual body has."_

_I looked down at my stomach and saw that I was wearing the same clothes as I was when I died, I felt the bloody cloths that covered my side and was surprised when I felt no pain, unused to the non-painful sensation. _

"_I understand…And I also understand your reasoning…"I spoke to my mother, giving her a sad smile, "I'll see you when I die later in life though….right?" _

_She smiled and nodded. _

_We shared a sad silence before I embraced her once more, waiting for my friends to try and bring me back…_

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Aang was the one who got up first. He cradled Katara in his arms and looked down at her face. "We have to move…" He muttered, "Kang-Dae or his father is going to find us…Where's Appa…?"

Sokka looked up at him and he sniffed, wiping away his tears, "He's…he's up there, behind the top part of the gatehouse, but…Kang-Dae is dead isn't he?"

"No…" Aang muttered again, "He's alive…I can feel it…Everyone just…Let's leave…"

No one tried to stop him, knowing this wasn't the time, nor the place.

They all climbed onto Appa and Aang got on last, carrying his motionless girlfriend. He stared down at her for a moment before turning to Sokka, "Do we have any bandages…?" He choked out, trying his best to stay strong.

"I think we might…from when you were hurt," Sokka muttered, reaching back on Appa's saddle for the white strips. Aang nodded and slipped onto Appa's head, taking hold of the reins.

He patted Appa's head and muttered, "Yip yip, Appa…" He started flying the large bison into the air and towards the exit, he directed his speaking to Sokka, "Where are the other troops?"

Sokka was crouching next to Katara's lifeless body, much like the other six people with them, he answered, "I had them escape in the submarine, I'm pretty sure they were able to take the guards by the doors."

Aang nodded, "Alright…"

He quietly spoke to Appa, "Let's go faster buddy, we'll slow down on the surface…" The creature groaned his reply, speeding up his flying. As they approached the wall of the dome, Appa slowed down, questioning Aang's actions, but Aang leaned down again, "It's okay, buddy, just keep going." Aang stood up, his arms spread, forming a ball of air around them. He surrounded the air by an intense fire, crashing into the thick ice walls of the dome.

They slowed down as they took a second to melt through the ice. Finally, the water started rushing into the city. Aang jumped backwards onto the back tip of Appa's saddle and quickly froze the rushing water, keeping it from hurting anyone inside.

"Aang! Why did you do that! We could have won right then and there!" Sokka angrily exclaimed as he saved all of the people inside the city.

"I'm not going to kill all of those people…It wouldn't be a victory…It would only be the killing of thousands of innocent people, and I won't allow that," The sphere of air that surrounded them broke through the surface of the ocean and flew into the sky. The group saw the submarine escaping near them.

The gaang stopped talking as Aang walked down to kneel by Katara. He brushed a stray hair from her face before taking off the cap to one of her water pouches. He pulled the water out and concentrated hard on the moment they met, the happiest thought he could muster.

He looked at her motionless form, not knowing what he'd do with the water seeing as though she was…

He looked down at her. He didn't know what to do. The water in his hand wouldn't glow.

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_I'm sure you won't need it, we're all pretty strong, and I'm sure that if one of us did get hurt, you'd be able to muster enough happy thoughts to perform it correctly._

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"But I can't Katara…Not when you're like this," He mentally cried, hoping to reach her in some way. He turned to face the whirlpool, just in time to see it collapse.

_The energybenders_, he thought.

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_There are three ways to energybend: energy stealing, healing, and just plain energybending._

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"Healing! That's it! You can heal with energybending!" He smiled widely, his mind full of hope now as he tried to use the energy healing technique.

He leaned over her body and placed his right hand on her forehead and his left hand on her chest. He focused on the energy that coursed through his body, he searched for the non-bending energy he had in him so as not to give her his own bending ablilities.

He imagined that healing with waterbending and healing with energybending would be pretty much alike, so he thought of happy thoughts, such as her coming back to life. He smiled and thought of how happy he'd be if this worked. His arm suddenly lit up bright blue and he took this too be what he was to heal Katara with.

He placed his hand on her wound and the blue instantly transferred from his body to hers in a quick burst.

The eight members of the gaang stared intently at the girl before them. After a few silent moments, Katara's mouth begins to twitch as she starts to breathe again. Aang kneels there, his mouth agape with happiness.

"Katara?" He cries softly, asking for her to answer him. Her eyes twitch slightly before looking up at the sky, slowly turning her head to face him.

"A-a-aang?" She murmured in a barely audible whisper.

Aang let out the breath that he had just realized he was holding, quickly wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to his chest. He embraced her tightly, but without injuring her more than she already was. He murmured soothing words into her ear and told her how much he loved her.

The others joined in on the hug and Katara smiled into the crook of Aang's neck, knowing that despite the enormous pain near her stomach. She tried not to think of anything but the love she felt around her. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck until they all pulled away from the hug. Aang lingered though, kissing her forehead.

He gently laid her down, using a clothes roll as a pillow for her. The others got to work on wrapping her wound with bandages. Katara stared lazily at the short wall of Appa's saddle, watching the world go by as they flew.

A few minutes later, the gaang finished wrapping her wound and she now lay in her underclothes and her pants, having to take off her dress to property dress the wound. Katara closed her eyes slowly, muttering to Aang, "I-I'm so tired."

Aang looked at her sadly, but also glad that she was alive, "Then you can sleep," He brushed the remaining hair from her face and kissed her forehead, leaving her smiling as she quickly fell asleep.

Aang led Appa and the submarine towards the Fire Nation capitol, hoping to find medical assistance for those who were wounded during the battle, and especially for the most important person in his life. Katara.

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A/N- Woah! You made it! You read it all! Congratulations! You're the winner!

To claim your prize, there's just one thing you have to do.

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You see that little blue button down there?

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Yeah, that one.

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The one that says, "Review this Chapter"?

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Yep.

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Click it.

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Right there

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	15. Chapter 14: A Journey to Safety

**A/N: Hey, guys, I'm really sorry about the delay. I have a legit excuse though. I've had finals and those are really sucky….if anyone cares, I feel pretty good about them! ^.^ Anyways…The chapter. So, this is kinda a filler "episode"…The action comes back soon, but I have to let you all know what happens with Katara and everything, don't I! **

**So yeah, sorry you waited this long for a filler "episode"….But I guess since I had a huge chapter last time I was kinda worn out, heh….heh…**

**Anyways, here it is! **

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 14:

A Journey to Safety

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Aang remained silent the rest of the trip to the Fire Nation capitol. Healing Katara had taken a lot of the energy out of him. He sat there, legs crossed, his arm stretched out, slowly massaging Katara's limp hand. He cried every once in a while, but soon his tears ran out. He wished he could have protected her better. He was the avatar, and even worse, he was her boyfriend. A boyfriend is supposed to protect his girlfriend, keep her safe and loved, and he was doing a pretty sucky job at it.

At some point during the trip, Suki bandaged up his arm where Kang-Dae had nicked him with his sword. He tried to stop them, explaining that they shouldn't help him, and that he didn't deserve it for letting Katara get hurt. They helped him anyway.

Buyou hesitantly stood up, knowing that Aang wasn't really in the mood to talk, but he walked up to him anyways, "Aang?" He asked quietly, his voice timid.

Aang sadly looked up at the eight-year-old, giving him a small forced smile, showing the boy that he had acknowledged his presence.

"Umm, are…are you okay?" The boy asked, looking sorrowfully at his role model.

Aang rose his head from its usual sulking position, turning it to face Buyou, he nodded, "…Yeah.…"

Buyou smiled, plopping himself down next to him, cross-legged. Then, he saw the unconscious girl next to him, looking sadly at her. "Is she gonna be okay, Aang?"

Aang looked over at Katara as well, feeling the tears form once more in his eyes, "I…Well….I don't know…" He felt the salty tears slide down his cheeks, as well as the sad stares from his friends, "But…It will all be fine…whatever happens."

He lost the will to speak and he laid down next to Katara, wrapping his arm around her and holding her close. Buyou took this as time to go, so he went back to Usagi and Noboru. The rest of the trip was silent.

When the palace came into view, Sokka gently shook the airbender awake. "Aang…" He muttered as he kept his hand on the boy's shoulder. Aang's eyes slowly slid open, staring in front of him in a daze. He gained back his senses, and slowly leaned upward to get into a sitting position. He looked at his surroundings, also seeing the palace in the background.

_We're almost there, Katara, _he thought, _Just hold on a bit longer._

He looked down at her and saw that she had a damp cloth on her forehead, he looked at her in concern. Sokka saw his reaction and said, "She has a fever, and she started tossing and turning, so we wanted to cool her down some."

Aang nodded in response as Appa flew down into the inactive volcano of the palace. He landed in a clearing and everyone quickly jumped off. The soldiers from the subs would be a while longer because they had to come in at the beaches. Aang tenderly scooped up Katara in his arms, the blanket they had placed on her still wrapped around her. Katara's head rested on Aang's shoulder as she slept, slowly and painfully breathing on his neck.

Her breath on his neck made him shudder, but he continued walking towards the infirmary he had visited a few times after his battle with Ozai. Sokka and the rest of the gaang walked with them as they entered the medical wing for more serious wounds. The head nurse jogged up to them, always in a hurry when someone entered her section of the infirmary.

"Oh my," She exclaimed, seeing the pained girl in Aang's arms, "Lay her down on this bed here."

Aang did as he was told, softly placing Katara down on the bed, her head resting on the single pillow that was there. Katara winced as she was set down, the wound where Kang-Dae's sword passed through her back as well touching the bed. She gritted her teeth and Aang looked sadly at her.

The nurse pulled away the blanket to see what she was working with, "Oh, dear Agni," She exclaimed, seeing the bloodied bandages the encased her wound, "What happened!"

A few other nurses came up as well with bandages.

"We were in a battle…." Sokka explained, "The man we were fighting stabbed her with his sword and it went all the way through…please tell me you can help her…"

The head nurse sighed, "I will try my best, young man, but I cannot assure you that she will live, I am very sorry." She looked at the hope in their eyes, seeing it drop rapidly, especially Aang's.

The other nurses were busy unwrapping the wound so that they could clean it and try to help in any way they could. Aang remained silent like he had since the battle ended, but slowly walked to the side of the bed. Tears rapidly formed in the corners of his eyes, streaming down the sides of his face. His lips began to quiver and his silence gave out, falling to his knees and grabbing Katara's arm, shaking with his cries.

The men and women in the room stared at him sadly and got back to work. The kids hugged him and the rest of the gaang's members placed a hand on him, rubbing or patting his back to try and comfort him. They all ended up in a big hug. `

After a few minutes of hugging, the nurses quietly asked that they leave so they could work on the wound, but they said one could stay in the chair by the bed if they so wished. As much as Sokka wanted to be that person, he could feel how much this was paining Aang, so he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a sad, yet hopeful smile. Aang looked up at him, looking smaller than ever as the tears slid down his cheeks, but he smiled sadly in gratitude.

The airbender took a seat in the chair next to the bed and saw as the bandages were removed, showing the horrible wound. He almost gagged as he saw blood still streaming from it. He would have thought it would stop by then, but it hadn't. He stood up and walked to the window of the room, opening it and letting fresh air in. He took a few big gulps of it, and sighed, watching as birds flew across the sky in a diagonal formation. He smiled slightly.

He heard small murmurs from the bed and he twisted around, seeing the nurses staring intently at Katara's face. He looked at them strangely and walked up to the end of the bed. He realized that they thought she might wake up. He smiled hopefully and stared at her as well.

"Mmm…" The wounded girl mumbled, turning her head to the right, she gritted her teeth as one of the nurses placed a clean cloth underneath her back to soak up the blood from there. She set another on top as well. She moaned in pain and turned her head to the side again.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she gritted her teeth harder, tears escaping her eyes. This was definitely not the way she wanted to wake up. Within seconds, Aang was at her side, holding her hands and staring happily at her. "Katara, you're okay…"

Katara slowly turned her head to face him and she studied his face closely, trying to recognize him. She stared strangely at him for a few moments before the memories came back to her. A pained grin spread on her face as she looked up at him. Aang leaned down and gently kissed her, causing Katara to close her eyes and savor the moment.

He pulled away a few seconds later when the head nurse began talking to him, "Umm, I'm sorry to bother you, but we are going to need to stitch her wounds up now or she might not make it. She is going to loose to much blood."

Aang nodded quickly, willing to do anything for Katara's safety. He softly stroked her cheek and pulled his hand back, muttering, "I love you, Katara."

"I-I…love y-you…too….A..aang…." Katara smiled and muttered at barely even a whisper, finding it very hard to speak.

Aang stepped back and walked back to the window across from the bed. He took another breath and turned to see what they were going to do to Katara. She laid there limply, staring off into space as the head nurse took a needle and a strange thread-like material after washing her hands.

She placed it down on a table and looked at Katara, seeing her staring at the wall smiling, seeming to be in a daze. "Oh no, has the next shipment of medicine come through yet?"

One nurse looked upset as she responded, "Not yet, sorry, Ma'am."

"Oh dear, then we won't be able to block her pain…." She looked down worriedly, before looking up at Aang, "Would you be willing to hold her hand as we stitch up her wounds?"

Aang looked at her wide-eyed, "Yeah. Sure. I guess." He walks up to Katara and she turns to him smiling, still in her daze. He smiled sadly back, holding her hand.

"Now, she is going to be in a lot of pain in a minute, because the shipment of medicine hasn't arrived, but we need to do this now so we have no choice. She will most likely pass out in a few minutes at most from pain. I really wish we didn't have to do it like this but this seems like the only option right now. Oh… and your hand is going to hurt in a minute too. Are you ready?" She said, picking up her needle and the strange material.

"Umm, yeah, I guess so," He gripped her hand gently and she continued to smile at him, still in a daze, unaware about what was going to happen.

The needle entered her body next to the wound and Katara cried out in pain, squeezing the life out of Aang's hand as the needle pierced the sensitive skin. She started to cry and shake in pain. Aang had to lunge to hold her down. The other nurses held down her legs as she threatened to start kicking.

"Ahh!" Katara cried out as the next stitch entered her. "P-please! P-please stop…." She continued to cry and squeeze Aang's hand. His knees buckled underneath him as he struggled to stay calm with his hand near the breaking point.

Stitch after stitch entered her, sewing up the wound. Katara screamed loudly and pain fully and by the time the fifth stitch entered, she fell into a daze, half unconscious. The experience was too painful for her to take. Her grip lessened on Aang's hand and he instinctively pulled away, cradling his hurt hand.

A nurse came from the back and kneeled next to him, examining his hand as Katara continued to moan in pain despite her slight unconsciousness.

"Oh, hmm, well you might have dislocated a few fingers," She spoke, gently holding the wounded hand in hers. She let go and led Aang into another room where she popped them back into place and wrapped up his hand for good measure. Katara was sure to apologize for it later, even though Aang didn't care about it, only about her.

Aang was getting woozy after the next few stitches, not being able to one: stand Katara's cries and moans…and two: seeing so much blood coming from the wound. He slowly walked outside and met up with his friends, "If you want to go in, you can, I…I just can't be in there right now…It's too hard…"

Sokka stood up from his chair and nodded at Aang, patting him on the shoulder as he passed him, entering the room. For a moment as he opened the door, Katara cried out, causing everyone to flinch and Aang to start crying again. Never had he been so sad, scared, and worried in his life. He felt completely vulnerable, but he didn't care.

He got caught up in his thoughts about what he would do if Katara didn't make it, if she died again, but didn't come back. Truthfully, he didn't know how he brought her back. All he knew is that she just seemed to have enough energy to keep her heart beating and her lungs breathing after he healed her.

He broke out of his thoughts as Suki asked him, "What happened to your hand?"

Aang had forgotten about the strange tingling and the pain in his hand from having some of his fingers dislocated and popped back in place. The pain momentarily came back. "Oh, I-uh…Katara…Well….I was holding her hand."

Suki gave him a sad smile, but had trouble containing her giggles, he asked for it.

Aang gave himself the same look and sat down next to Buyou, watching as the kids played a game with round rocks that they had found. He couldn't concentrate as Katara's cry came from the room. He looked in terror at the room, standing up abruptly.

A few minutes passed of silence before the head nurse came out, wiping her slightly bloodied hands on a wet towel. "I think she's going to be fine, the other nurses are getting the wound on her back now, but she's doing better than some of our other patients with no medicine."

Sokka stepped out a second later, cradling his right hand against his chest.

Suki smiled with laughed, suspecting something, "And what happened to _your _hand?"

Sokka looked down at his hand, "Well, I-uh…Katara kinda…" Suki began laughing, despite the fact that she knew it was because of Katara's pain and it was no laughing matter. The others in the room started laughing slightly as well, even Aang, trying to keep his spirits raised.

Everyone waited for Katara to be done getting her stitches, trying their best to keep themselves calm as she cried out multiple times in pain, but they couldn't help but release at least a small wince when they occurred. They were finally over a few minutes later, and Aang asked if he could come in.

"Yes, she is half awake it appears, but I can't guarantee she'll respond to anything you say or do," The head nurse replied.

Aang nodded and slowly stepped into the room, being able to get a small glimpse of the bloody cloths, which were used to soak up Katara's blood, as a nurse tossed them into a basket and closed the top. He winced and walked up to the new bed Katara laid in, due to the fact that the other one was stained with blood. She had a red blanket pulled up to her chin and her face was pain-stricken, but not as bad as it had been. She slowly turned her head to the side, now slightly facing him. Her eyes fluttered half open and she saw him standing there.

She looked at him strangely but then her vision focused and she saw him. Her eyes brightened and she managed a sad, pained, smile at him.

"H-hey…Aang…"

Aang smiled down at her, wiping a stand of her hair behind her ear, "Hi…How are you feeling?"

Katara looked sadly up at him, shaking her head, "That hurt….s-so much…."

Aang sat down next to her on the bed and leaned down to hug her, he embraced her and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, a few tears escaping her eyes. Still in the hug, he asked, "Do you want the others to come in? I'm sure they'd love to see that you're awake."

She nodded slowly and closed her eyes.

Aang pulled away and he told her he'd be right back. He walked to the door of the infirmary and motioned for the others to come in. They all walked back to Katara and smiled sadly at her.

"Hi, everyone…" Katara muttered, already slipping into sleep.

"Hi," A few of them muttered as well, sad that she was in pain.

Katara shifted her gaze to everyone and saw Sokka's hand, "What happened…to you?"

Sokka's eyes widened, he didn't want her to be upset that she hurt him and Aang, "Umm…ummm, n-nothin-,"

"I did th-that….d-didn't I?" Katara whispered, suddenly extremely sad, tears forming in her eyes. The pain she was experiencing was making her very emotional. "I'm so s-sorry…"

"I…I-I didn't mean to….h-hurt you," She tilted her gaze to Aang, who was trying to hide his wounded hand from her, "-I hurt _you, _too!" She looked down sadly, tears starting to stream down from her eyes.

Aang and the others took this opportunity to calm her down, "No, don't worry about it! It doesn't even hurt, Katara!" Aang spoke to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He couldn't help but wince when his sore fingers pressed against the bed.

Katara's eyes widened in fear, "B-but you winced, I saw you!" She tried to sit up, but did it too quickly and the pain reeled her back. She gritted her teeth in pain and whimpered, after a few moments, she looked up again, but she stared at her hand.

After staring at it for a bit, she turned to everyone again, "Why don't I just h-heal you two and me…?"

Everyone turned to each other, smiles forming on their faces.

"Yeah!" Aang exclaimed, "Why didn't I think about that earlier! The only reason you aren't healed yet is because I was too pathetic to muster up enough happy thoughts to heal you with water, and, you were…well, you know…so you couldn't…But, it doesn't matter, now you're alive and awake, so you can heal yourself." He smiled and turned on his heels to fetch a bowl of water.

He came back a few minutes later with a bowl of water, holding it before Katara with a smile. Katara smiled as well, wincing as she tried to sit up.

Suki and Zuko were at her side quickly, bracing her as she sat up, gritting her teeth. She managed a smile after the pain slightly subsided; she lifted her hand up again and held it over the bowl, her hopes rising.

She began control the chi in her hand to bend the water…but nothing happened.

She stared at the bowl strangely before trying again, with more concentration. Suddenly, her wound bit pain into her side and she cringed, reeling back her arm to clutch at it. After a few moments of trying again and failing, she asked, "Wh-why isn't it working?"

"I don't know, it doesn't make sense…" Aang said, he looked down at the bowl sadly, but then he thought about something, suggesting, "Maybe you're just tired, and you need some help getting it started, here." He smiled, bending a glob of water out of the bowl and trying to hand it to Katara.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Katara smiled weakly, sitting up painfully again with the help of her friends. She held out her hand, ready to catch the water in Aang's control.

"You ready?" Aang asked hopefully.

Katara nodded with a slight smile and prepared for the water to drop into her control. Aang let go of it and it splashed into Katara's hand, continuing to drip onto her side. Katara looked at her hand worriedly, but sighed when the cold water splashed onto her burning wound. "Oh no…" She whimpered, plopping her head back on her pillow, not caring at the moment that she was in terrible pain, only fearing the strange loss of her bending.

Aang placed his hand on her shoulder, "Like I said, you're probably just tired and weak, we'll try again tomorrow, okay?" He leaned down and kissed her forehead, seeing that she was dozing off again. She smiled weakly and leaned her head into her pillow, closing her eyes. Everyone smiled slightly as well and turned to leave to let Katara rest.

"KATARA!" They suddenly heard. They quickly spun back around just in time to see Hakoda rush in and give Katara a bone-crushing hug. Katara cried out from the embrace.

"D-dad, stop. Please, Dad," Katara whimpered, as Hakoda quickly drew back, realizing that he had hurt her.

"Oh, Katara, I'm so sorry," He spoke softly, then with more aggression to Aang, "What. Happened." He glared at Aang with hatred. Sokka looked at his father fearfully. The last time he had seen him so angry was when their mother had been murdered.

"I-I…Well, she….When we were fighting Kang-Dae and his fath-," Aang began.

"Get to the point!" Hakoda shouted, his eyes closing tightly with anger. Katara looked sadly from him to Aang, whose eyes were glistening with forming tears of regret.

"Kang-Dae stabbed her…" Aang finished, biting his lip.

Hakoda's eyes widened with many emotions, wrapping his arms around Katara more gently now as he said, "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry…" He laid Katara back down on the bed, turning to Aang angrily again, "And you LET this happen?"

Aang reeled back in fear from the angry tone in his voice, "I umm…I didn't…"

Katara didn't like Hakoda being so mean to Aang, so she spoke up, despite her condition, "Dad, stop being like that to Aang. He has done nothing wrong. I-it was my fault that I didn't see Kang-Dae c-coming. If anything, Aang kept me f-from getting any more hurt. He kept me s-safe the rest of the battle. So don't yell at him!" To emphasize her small speech, she began sitting up, forgetting the pain that it would bring.

She bent her torso too much for her damaged body to take and the pain flooded in once more. She fell back and bit her lip, grasping her side and whimpering.

Hakoda looked at her sadly, "Oh…I'm sorry, Katara, I didn't know….I'm just upset…It's so hard seeing you hurt like this…You look so much like your mother, and…when she died…" He sighed, unable to continue. He hugged Katara once more and told everyone that he should get back to the troops to give them orders.

Katara weakly relaxed herself, her arms still clutching at her side. Her eyes slipped closed and her breathing slowed.

Aang sadly smiled, knowing that she was probably really tired. So much had happened that day. They went to fight with the energy benders. They witnessed Kang-Dae and his father's amazing energy powers. Katara was stabbed. Aang risked his life to save her. She died…And they brought her back, just barely making it to the capitol in time to ensure her safety.

He waved his friends towards the door, "Come on, guys, she's tired." They nodded and turned to leave once more.

As Aang turned to leave the room as well, he heard a small whisper come from Katara. He spun to look at her again and saw her looking at him faintly with lidded eyes. She raised her arm slightly and extended it to him.

"Don't go," was her whisper.

Aang stared at her and contemplated what she said. He was fine with staying, but he didn't know if he should. She needed her rest, and he might disturb her.

Despite this, he heard himself whisper, "Never," walking to her and grasping her hand in his own. He slowly slid under the covers of the bed beside her and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. He brought his other arm up and draped it protectively across her, careful not to bump her wound.

Katara sighed and nuzzled her face into the side of his chest. She didn't dare lie on her side, even though it would bring her more comfort in Aang's arms. That side of her was in terrible condition, the two wounds of her stomach and back burning terribly with pain. It would be painful to disturb her injuries.

Katara quickly fell asleep, breathing slowly in Aang's arms.

When the others had left the infirmary, walking to their own designated rooms, it only took a short while for Sokka to realize Aang was not following them. He made his way back to the infirmary to check and see what had happened.

He slowly opened the door and peeked his head inside, only to see his friend sleeping with his sister. He stared at them, half angry and half concerned. He was ready to pounce on them and break them apart, but he saw the smile on Katara's lips as she slept, curled up next to Aang. He looked at them sadly for a moment before realizing that they weren't going to do anything and that he should let them sleep. Aang wouldn't ever hurt Katara, especially in this condition. He tiptoed backwards into the waiting room of the infirmary. He sighed and walked back to his room.

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OoO

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In the morning, Aang woke up and looked down to see Katara still sleeping soundly against him. He stroked her hair for a minute before quietly slipping out of her grasp and onto the cold tile floor of the infirmary. He tiptoed out of the room, rubbing his eyes and walking back to his friends. He passed the dining hall and glanced in as he passed. He was surprised to see his friends there, all eating a variety of foods for breakfast. He smiled and walked in.

Sokka glanced up but then met the gaze of Aang, he smiled, "Aang, just the guy we wanted to see." Aang pulled up a chair to the small table they were eating at. Zuko handed him an apple and he gladly accepted it, just then realizing that he hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before.

He took a bite out of it before responding, "So, what did you want to see me for?"

Sokka grew more serious, "Well, due to the fact that we bailed on our fight with the Energybenders, we have no idea what we're doing now. Katara is in absolutely no condition to fight, let alone walk around. We're pretty sure she'll survive…but…..yeah…We shouldn't go back to battle until she is fully healed; that or we go without her, but I'm not sure she'll like that."

The group thought a moment before Aang suggested, "How 'bout we go to the North Pole and get Katara healed there? That would certainly be faster than waiting and healing her naturally."

"That might work," Sokka agreed, "But we'd have to take a ship or something. Appa can't fly for that long of a time, so we'd end up having to stop for him," he turned to Zuko, "Do you think we could rent a ship for it?"

Zuko smiled, "I'm sure we could, me being their leader and all."

Sokka laughed, "Oh, yeah, right," he composed himself, "So it's settled then, we'll get a ship and head to the North Pole."

"I guess so, but as of now, we don't have many ships. The soldiers who were taking control of towns and fighting are occupying them all. They have to clean up everything they've done before they're allowed back here…" Zuko explained, crossing his arms on the table.

Sokka looked down in thought, but then he looked back up, "Are there _any _ships?"

"Maybe," Zuko muttered, "But they are probably only small ones that would need to stop numerous times just to be able to keep going. They'd be slightly smaller than the one I first came to the South Pole in, but it still wouldn't have to stop as much as Appa would."

"Ah," Sokka breathed, "Well, that might just-," He looked up and saw a nurse quickly run into the room. He raised his eyebrow to mentally ask what was wrong. She looked like she was in a hurry.

She spoke, "Your friend is not in very good condition. Her fever has grown overnight and we fear that we were too slow in getting the wound cleaned, she may be forming an infection…and if that happens…" She did not need to say the rest, they knew what would happen if she formed a spreading infection.

Aang was the first to stand up. He quickly followed the nurse back to the infirmary, slowly being followed by everyone else. Aang entered the room and saw Katara writhing in pain on the bed, multiple nurses surrounding her as she whimpered and cried.

He jogged up to her and the nurses let him see. She had reopened the wound, the stitching unfortunately not being very professional. Fire Nation capitol or not, they were not advanced. There was now a blood splotch in the blanket that had been coving her. Aang realized then that her only chance of surviving was if they traveled to the North Pole. He found himself saying those exact words.

He stared down at his pained girlfriend, "We have to go to the North Pole. That's the only way she'll make it."

There was a silence as everyone stared at him, he got slightly angered, "Now." He ordered.

A few nurses stayed to tend to Katara as the other members of the gaang went to pack and tell the troops. Aang stayed and waited for the remaining nurses to place a thick layer of gauze onto it and wrap it up. They told Aang it had to be changed a couple times a day, and if it gets really bad, they must add pressure. He agreed to these terms and held Katara's hand as they continued to prepare her for travel.

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OoO

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A few hours past before everything was set and ready to go. The last people that needed to load onto the ship were Aang and Katara. He gently scooped up her and her blanket into his arms and walked out onto the ramp leading into the ship. Once he was inside, the ramp closed up behind him and he begun making his way upstairs.

He got onto the deck of the ship and walked up to the railing. He sighed as the ship started and the capitol slowly disappeared behind him.

"Here we go, Katara," He slowly whispered, even though he knew she was out cold, "We're gonna make you feel better."

After a few minutes, he went upstairs into one of the bedrooms of the ship. They were much nicer than the infirmary's beds, much more fluffier and soft. He laid her down softly and pulled the blankets up to her chin. He kissed her forehead and made his way downstairs to the infirmary to get supplies.

When everything was set up, he found himself laying next to her, gently tracing the outline of her face. He never really had time to see her this closely. It would usually be interrupted by her giggling at him for staring at her. But now, he got to truly see how beautiful she was, even in pain.

Within minutes, he was asleep with his arm around her.

He woke up a few hours later and slid out of the bed. He took a minute to adjust to his surroundings before realizing that it was probably time to change Katara's gauze. He slightly began to freak out, seeing as though he did not want her to get an infection from not having clean gauze. He found it moderately stained with blood and his nerves died down, slowly unwrapping the thick layer around her.

He took a cloth and dipped it in lukewarm water, beginning to wipe away the dry blood surrounding the wound. Then, he began cleaning up what he could of the wound itself. Afterwards, he rewrapped the injury with a roll of clean white gauze. Proud of his work, he put his hands on his hips and smiled at it.

This happiness lasted only a few seconds longer before Katara started whimpering. Afraid she was in some sort of pain, Aang rushed to her side, grasping her hand. He felt her forehead with his other hand and found it burning hot. He placed a cool rag on her head and stroked her hair to comfort her. It seemed as though she was having a nightmare, so all he could really do was comfort her.

An hour later, her fever began to die down slightly, and her nightmares stopped. The few nurses that came with to help when things got really bad assumed she was in a coma. Aang began to fear her never waking up, but he forced himself to stay positive. He knew she would be fine in the end. Everything turned out fine in the end…

He took a break from watching over her. He felt bad enough about not protecting her better during the fight, but now he had to sit and watch her suffer, knowing that he knew no way to help her.

He slipped away to the deck of the ship and rested his arms on the railing, looking out to the sea. He sighed and set his head down as well.

"Hey, how you feelin', bud?"

Aang turned around to see who had spoken to him, he smiled when he saw Sokka standing there, "I'm fine…I'm just taking a break from blood and pain…"

There was a moment of silence between them, Katara's suffering was affecting both of them.

"She's going to be fine, Aang, don't you worry," Sokka said, walking up and leaning against the railing as well, "Any day now, she'll be up and runnin' around all happy, you'll see."

"Yeah…" Aang sadly agreed, but he knew it wasn't true. Even if Katara did wake up, she'd be in pain and kept in bed. He did want her to wake up, but he did not want that for her.

He had to keep his mind off what was going on, and he could only think of one way to do that. He began walking towards one of the many bedrooms the ship held.

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oOo

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"You want me to train you?"

"Yes," Aang agreed, nodding to his firebending friend with seriousness in his eyes.

"But you have already reached my level," Zuko stated, standing up from his position on his bed and crossing his arms, "I don't really have anything left to teach you. You can even create lightning and I can't do that." Zuko looked annoyed then, remembering that.

"At least fight with me!" Aang pleaded, balling up his hands into fists, "I need something to get my mind off what happened…"

Zuko understood, and though he wasn't in the mood to spar, he needed to get some things off his mind as well. They walked out onto the deck and began to fight.

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oOo

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Sokka sat in his room figuring out how long it would take them to get to the North Pole and how much time that would leave them before he assumed the Energybenders might come and attack. He did not know if or when they were coming, but he made a small guess. He figured it would be a few weeks until they arrived at the North Pole, and he hoped that they wouldn't come attack until a while after then.

He sighed in frustration and decided to not worry about that, he felt like visiting Katara to see if she was awake. Without Aang watching over her like a dog, they all had no way of knowing if she was or not. Though the nurses might be there, so they could have seen if she awoke…

He walked into her room to find a nurse switching the cold cloth on her forehead. He smiled slightly at her and she returned it, standing up and slowly walking out of the room. Sokka nodded and walked over to the bed, taking the unconscious girl's hand into his own, stroking it softly. He heard her murmur softly and shift her position.

"Katara…?"

There was no answer.

"Katara, are you awake?"

Still no answer.

"Figures," He spoke aloud to himself, "Still worth a shot though…" He looked at her face and saw her eyebrows tightened with pain and looked at her sadly, "I wish you would wake up…you could tell us what was hurting you the most and what you needed, instead of forcing us to guess for you…" He brushed some hair from her forehead.

Looking down at her sadly, he saw how tiny she looked when she was in pain. He could feel tears stinging his eyes as he remembered the times when they were children. He also remembered the time that his father told him to take care of the tribe and most importantly his sister…

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OoO

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"_Sokka…" Hakoda spoke softly, seeing his young son run up to him. _

"_I'm coming with you," Sokka stated, a hopeful look in his eyes, but seriousness covering the rest of his features. _

"_You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka, you know that," Hakoda sighed and explained to his son, sensing the boy's want to go._

"_I'm strong! I'm brave! I can fight! Please, Dad!" Sokka pleaded with his father, the hopeful look in his eyes widening. _

_Hakoda looked down at Sokka and told him, "Being a man means knowing where you're needed most, and for you right now that's staying here protecting your sister…" _

_Sokka's eyes began to water, "I don't understand…"_

"_Someday you will…" His father said softly, opening his arms as his son ran into them, "I am going to miss you so much." _

_After minutes of Sokka crying into his father's chest, he slowly pulled away and looked up at his dad, "So…I will be a man if I stay with Katara and protect her?" _

"_Yes, son. She needs you now. You're her brother. And without me and the other men here, you'll have to be the man of the family…of the whole tribe," Hakoda patted Sokka's head. _

_Sokka looked down in thought for a moment before looking up with a confident smile, "Alright. I'll protect her, no matter what," he shoved his boomerang into the air for effect. _

_Hakoda smiled proudly and put his hand on Sokka's shoulder, "Good. I'm so proud of you, Sokka." _

"_Thanks, Dad." _

_._

OoO

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"I promised I'd protect you, Katara," Sokka whispered, his grip on Katara's hand tightening, but not too much to hurt her, "But I broke my promise to dad by letting this happen…"

"He told me to protect you…to keep you safe….that I had to be there for you….But I wasn't!" He exclaimed, closing his eyes in fury and sadness.

He felt tears slide down his cheeks and he wiped them away with his sleeve. He calmed down and laid back in the chair next to the bed. He was about to close his eyes to calm his nerves when suddenly he heard Katara mumbling. He jolted at the sound and watched her intently. Her lips were trembling. He looked at her, confused, and leaned closer.

"S-sokka…" She mumbled, her voice choked up as if she was crying. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Y-yes, Katara? Are you waking up!" Sokka said happily, not caring that excess tears were slipping from his eyes.

Katara cried for a minute more before she stopped, slowly settling down and returning to her normal, unconscious state. Sokka stared at her sadly.

'_Maybe she heard what I said…' _He thought, continuing to stare at her. He wiped the tearstains from his face and he understood what Aang meant by "getting away from the blood and pain". It was just to hard to be near her when you know that you contributed to what was causing her pain.

He slowly stood from his seat and walked out of the room, going to visit Suki to see if she could cheer him up.

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OoO

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"Aang, you need to calm down!" Zuko shouted across the ship's deck as he saw the avatar once again charge him to attack.

"Why!" Aang shouted back, stopping angrily in his tracks, "We're fighting, so I should give it my all."

"Yeah, but not in a sense that you'll kill me!" Zuko huffed out, trying to catch his breath from dodging all of Aang's furious attacks, he straightened up and stared Aang down, "You're taking all of your anger out on me, when I did nothing. Save your anger for when you get to Kang-Dae. Then let him have it!"

Aang realized he was right, but sadly said, "I know…but I'm just so angry now….It's all my fault that Katara's hurt…"

"No. Aang, it's not. It's all Kang-Dae's fault," Zuko spoke, intensity in his voice.

Aang sighed, "Okay…" He looked towards the ship's tower and spotted where Katara was, he stared at if for a moment before saying, "I'm going to go visit her again…I hate being away from her."

Zuko nodded, knowing Aang was upset, and slowly moved out of the way for him.

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OoO

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Aang walked slowly into her room, both wanting and not wanting to see her. He winced as he saw her gripping the sheets of her bed. She was still in pain from her infection. He rushed to her side and gripped her hand, not knowing what else to do.

She seemed to calm when he got a hold of her, but he still wished he could do more for her.

After minutes of sitting there, now stroking Katara's hand, the kids walked in, shy looks on their faces.

Aang looked up at them and sadly smiled, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We wanted to check up on Katara," Usagi whispered, tip-toeing over to the sleeping girl, as if she'd wake up if she didn't, "We brought her flowers."

Aang smiled at them as they placed a bouquet of flowers on the table, "Where'd you get those?"

The kids smiled warmly, "There's a room upstairs filled with them!"

Aang looked at the flowers and spoke, "I'm sure she'll love them, they're very pretty."

The kids laughed and took turns gently hugging Katara. The sleeping girl's lips curled into a soft smile, not as pained as it had been before. Aang also took this opportunity to hug her again. Katara, despite her pain, continued to smile faintly even as the little kids left the room. Aang continued stroking her hand.

He pulled away from her and stood up, leaning down to kiss her forehead, lingering there, "I love you, please stay with us," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

He straightened out and slowly exited the room. He looked back once to make sure she was going to be okay, only to see her smile fade and her face contort with pain. This reminded him about the severity of this journey to the North Pole. He closed his eyes tightly and balled his hands into fists.

He would do anything to get her to safety.

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**A/N: Awwwh, ain't he sweet? Lol. Anyways, hope you liked it, I'm going to get started on the next chapter now since I have time and I'm on Winter Break! Yeah! =D**

**Pwease Review?**

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	16. Chapter 15: False Happiness

**Author's Note: Well….hey guys…..or whatever's left of my somewhat "fan" base. I just want to let you know that I have never EVER felt so bad about myself in my entire life. I had ALL of winter break, and then 3 MONTHS more to write this…and I only got to it now. I have finished the chapter, and I know exactly what is in the next one, so I can guarantee it will not take 3+ months to finish….**

**Wow…I am a really sucky author…**

**For all of those who do still read this and feel like continuing, I just want to let you know that you have made my day by checking this out and possibly reviewing-wink wink nudge nudge… but yeah…I'll stop talking and say for the one BILLIONTH time….**

**I'm so sorry :/**

**Here's the chapter…**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 15:

False Happiness

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"Someone go get the Avatar, quick!"

The young nurse hurried towards him, carrying the bad news the other nurses told her. She scurried down to the small dining area in the ship. She turned the corner and entered the room, seeing Aang slowly slurping down his noodles as the other members of the gaang had a small conversation over lunch.

"Avatar Aang, you need to come with me," She huffed, out of breath from sprinting down to him.

Aang looked up, only to be struck with fear as he saw the nurse, knowing whatever was wrong had to be about Katara. He quickly set down his bowl and stood up, his chair accidentally knocking over in the process. His friends looked up at him as well, worried and surprised.

"What's wrong with Katara?" He asked, his urgent voice shaking with concern.

"Please just follow me back there, I just walked in and they told me to get you. It must be urgent, please come," She spoke quickly, her heart racing almost as much as his, she did not take stress well.

"Yes, I'm coming." Aang quickly said, rushing out of the room to follow the woman.

Zuko still stared in confusion and surprise at the now empty doorway; Sokka composed himself after also looking at the door in such a way, "What was that all about?"

Buyou gulped down the last bite of his rice ball and suggested, "Well, it's probably about Katara, since she's the only one being cared for by the nurses at the moment. Also, Aang said 'What's wrong with Katara?', so there must be something wrong with her."

"Yeah, maybe," Sokka said, fear in his voice.

"Maybe we should check in on her too, instead of sitting around like turtle-ducks asking ourselves what's going on," Toph said in her usual sarcastic voice.

"Yeah. Right. Good plan," Sokka stood up, the rest of the group following suit.

They jogged up to Katara's room and were met by cries and moans coming from the room. They also heard the frantic voice of Aang trying to calm her down. They tried to open the metal door but found it locked. Sokka grunted in frustration. He started banging his fists on the door then, yelling at them to let them in.

Zuko put a hand on his shoulder, telling him to stop, "They must only want Aang in there. Katara might be awake and too much company might make her more stressed. Plus, I don't think we want to be in there. Those cries are kind of disturbing, look, the kids already left." He pointed to them as they left the room, covering their ears, a scared look on their faces.

Sokka followed where the finger pointed and he too saw the kids leaving. He turned back to Zuko and sternly nodded, slowly exiting the room as well. Zuko, Toph, Suki, and Mai followed.

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OoO

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Aang had quickly rushed into the room only to find Katara writhing in pain on the bed. Surely her quick jerks were not helping her avoid pain, but she felt that there had to be some way to escape.

Not knowing what else to do, he lunged for her to firmly pin her down, not hurting her though. She was crying hard, her teeth gritted, and tears streaming down her face showing no sign of stopping anytime soon. She looked so miserable.

Aang looked over his shoulder at the other nurses in the room, "What's wrong? What happened to her?"

They looked at him with fear, but one nurse spoke, "There is no doubt now, she has an infection, and it is spreading."

Aang looked down at his girlfriend in fear, "No…"

Katara cried out loudly and gripped the sheets of the bed to the ripping point. Her teeth were clenched tightly and she was sweating. Suddenly, her grip lessened and a more just pained look filled her face. She turned her head to the side and started shaking, suddenly cold. She began to shake violently and Aang looked at her, scared out of his mind.

"Oh no, she's going into shock," one nurse exclaimed, she quickly ran to Katara's side and looked down at her, "Yeah, she definitely is. Grab some more blankets and prop her legs up above her heart."

Aang and another nurse ran to get the blankets and came back shortly later to help. They wrapped the blankets around Katara to preserve her body heat. Aang noticed one of Katara's hands sticking out of the cocoon she was in and he asked, "Isn't she supposed to be completely wrapped up?"

"No, well, yes, but she's only like that so you can hold her hand. Something tells me that you'd be much more capable of calming her down and comforting her, so you are going to hold her hand and talk to her, whether she replies or not, okay?"

Aang thought that was simple enough, "Yeah, okay."

He slid into a seat next to Katara and grasped her hand tightly. He felt her try to clutch his hand as well, but she found it difficult. Aang knew she was awake though.

"Katara?"

When she didn't reply, he tried again, "Katara? Can you speak?"

She turned her head to him and attempted to mumble something, but she couldn't get the words out. Aang squeezed her hand softly, "Don't worry, I'm here, I've always been here, and I won't leave you."

Katara managed a small smile and she nuzzled into her pillow. She slowly started to stop shaking. Aang sighed in happiness. When she stopped, Aang gently wiped the sweat from her forehead. His left hand was lightly holding onto Katara's arm, while his right clutched her hand softly.

"Are you going to be okay now?" Aang asked quietly, leaning a bit forward.

Katara mumbled a few words, but then slowly looked up at him, meeting his eyes, just barely, "Y-yeah…..Aang…."

Aang smiled brightly, taking her into his arms and nuzzling his face into the curve of her neck. Katara eventually got her hands around him too, but shortly after, she felt herself falling into the sweet abyss of sleep. Her hands slowly dropped and her eyes drooped closed.

Aang pulled away and kissed her forehead, standing up and looking down at her. He managed a small, sad smile at her before turning around and walking to join his friends for a planned meeting.

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OoO

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Aang slowly walked into the small meeting room of the ship, his eyes downward and his shoulders slumped. He slid into his designated chair and crossed his hands in his lap. There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke.

"So…how is she?" Zuko asked, breaking the silence.

"Well…she's…..fine…I guess," He looked to the side, making it pretty obvious that he was lying, he looked back at them and saw them staring at him knowingly, "Okay…She's not. It's been confirmed that there is an infection and it is spreading. Katara is in more and more pain each day because of it. If we don't make it to the North Pole soon, there's…there's no way she'll make it."

"I see…" Zuko said, his voice loosing hope.

"But we're nearing a town. I looked out the window and saw land and some houses in the distance, we should be making it there soon. I assume we're going to stop there for supplies or something so….maybe they'll have medicine there….at a market or something…." Aang added, hope creeping into his voice.

"Maybe, but we'll just have to see," Zuko said, "The town is farther from the capitol, so it may be one of the towns who's medicine was taken for the war support. But, we can still hope for some."

"Yeah," Aang smiled, "I'm sure they'll have some. So many bad things have happened lately…maybe the universe will decide to give us some luck."

Sokka snickered, "The universe doesn't like us, though." He remembered all of the troubles their group experienced.

"Hey, let's stay optimistic about this," Zuko commented, leaning over and crossing his arms on the table.

Sokka looked at him strangely and sarcastically said, "Since when are you optimistic?"

Zuko looked at him, slightly annoyed, "Since I realized how much bad has happened, I think less of the small things that used to bother me."

"Well. I'll stay optimistic with that logic," Sokka added, then he sat silent for a moment before saying, "Well, I guess we shou-."

There was suddenly a knock on the door, causing everyone to turn and stare at the door as Aang said, "Come in."

The door opened and a nurse came in, she muttered, "Umm." And then slightly lifted up her arm to motion for Aang to come. Aang saw this and stood, turning to his friends one last time before following the nurse into the hallway. They closed the door for privacy.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Aang asked the quiet nurse when she stopped a few feet away from the door and turned around.

"Well. After you left, she only slept for a few minutes before waking up and mumbling about the pain again. Good thing is that we are nearing a town that we know has a special numbing medicine for a decent price. We're going to stop by there and pick some up for her." The nurse turned down the hallway, then back to Aang, "If you want to go talk to her, she's awake enough now to accept many guests, all the nurses were talking to her and she seemed to be fine."

"Oh, okay, great," Aang smiled, then thanked her before running back in the room.

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked rather forcefully, "What happened to Katara?"

"Don't worry, she's fine, well…she's awake now and accepting multiple guests. So, you guys can all come now." He smiled and waved for them to follow.

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OoO

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Katara heard a knock on the door of her room and slowly and painfully turned to it, anticipating the audience of her friends, as the nurses had told her earlier.

"Katara?" Aang timidly asked while opening the door and peeking his head into the room.

"H-hi, guys," Katara smiled.

"Katara!" Sokka shouted randomly, lunging for her as her eyes opened widely. Katara gritted her teeth as Sokka bumped onto her wound as he hugged her.

"S-sokka, please get off, I can't-…it hurts, Sokka." Katara cried, causing Sokka to immediately and apologetically jump off of her.

"I'm really sorry, Katara, I couldn't control myself there." Sokka wiped away a small tear that made its way halfway down his face.

"It's fine…" Katara muttered, turning to the rest of her friends, "I…I haven't seen all of you for awhile…'cept you, Aang…"

They all smiled at her and walked up to her, all giving her a gentle hug as she tried to return them. The kids jogged up to her and climbed onto the bed next to her, giving her a firm hug, but not hurting her. Katara weakly smiled at her friends.

"How are you feeling, Katara?" Usagi asked, a sad puppy-dog look in her eyes.

"I'm…well….I've been better," Katara muttered before being flung into a coughing fit.

After she got over it, she sunk back into her pillows and her eyes drooped down in exhaustion. A nurse walked up to her and put her hand on her shoulder softly, "We're going to pick you up some medicine that should make you feel better, okay?"

The wounded girl turned to her and faintly smiled, "Okay…"

The nurse turned to the group of friends gathered around Katara and said, "If any of you would like to come with to buy anything else, you may, just be back on before dinnertime, we'll take off again then."

Everyone looked to Katara, wondering if it would be rude to leave her or not, but Katara seemed to answer their thoughts, "It's okay, guys, go. I'll be here when you get back." She smiled pitifully, and managed a small shrug.

"How about I stay with you?" Sokka added, "I haven't been able to have a nice conversation with you for awhile…"

Katara looked up at him and smiled, "That would be nice…"

"Alright then, we'll be back in a couple hours, okay?" Aang told her, kissing her forehead.

Katara slowly nodded, adjusting her position on the bed with the least amount of pain she could manage. Sokka walked up to her and sat down next to her, brushing some of her hair out of her face. The others left the two alone and quickly headed out to get the medicine.

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OoO

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After a few hours of shopping, the gaang and the nurses returned and walked into Katara's room. They saw Katara laying back on her pillows, her eyes lidded, softly laughing at a joke or comment Sokka must have made. When everyone entered, Sokka looked up and Katara slightly turned to them.

"Oh! Hey, guys," Sokka grinned, standing up, "Did you bring the medicine?"

"Got it," Aang grinned as well, holding up the bag, "Right here." He walked up to Katara and kneeled next to her, meeting her gaze with a soft smile.

A nurse walked up to them as well, saying, "We shouldn't give it to her now. She would just sleep through all of it's effects, so we're going to wait until morning to give it to her. The dose we'll give her should last until tomorrow night."

Aang nodded and kissed Katara's forehead, noticing that she was dosing off. He pulled away and asked her, "Are you hungry, Katara? Or do you just want to sleep?"

Katara looked like she was contemplating what to say next and a few moments later she spoke, "I just…want to sleep…"

Aang smiled and hugged her, "Alright. Goodnight, Katara."

Katara smiled as well and accepted the hug. She pressed her head deeper into the pillows and closed her eyes, drifting off into a pained, but peaceful sleep.

The rest of the gaang went off to have a silent dinner, everyone being worried about Katara, but glad that she would feel better the following day. They all hoped the medicine would be as good as it is said to be…

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OoO

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The next day, Aang and the others woke up at dawn to be with Katara when the nurses gave her the medicine, to make sure she would be fine. They rubbed their eyes as they walked into her room, only to find the nurses gently waking Katara up so she could swallow whatever the medicine was.

Aang walked over to the table that the bag containing it was and grabbed it. He spun on his heels and walked up to the nurses and Katara, kneeling beside her.

Aang helped wake her up and he started to stroke her hair as a nurse came up to them, kneeling down and taking the bag from Aang to properly give Katara the medicine. She pulled the bottle out of the bag and Aang peeked over her shoulder to see what she was going to give Katara. When he saw the writing on the bottle, he gasped at what he saw.

Si Wong Desert Cactus Juice

"Seriously? You're going to give her cactus juice?" Aang asked, rather loudly.

Everyone who understood what cactus juice does to you looked at Aang, shocked. The nurse did not understand what was so wrong.

"What's wrong with it? It will numb her wounds extremely well and she will feel no pain, depending on the amount we give her," the nurse explained.

"Sorry, we've just had a weird experience with cactus juice," he looked at the bottle and switched the subject, "So, does it really work in that way?"

"Yes, the substances in the juice will intoxicate whoever drinks it to the point where they do not feel any pain that would bother them," the nurse explained again, "This does not mean, though, that they should move around or upset their wounds by doing things that would normally hurt them."

Aang nodded, mostly understanding what the woman had told him.

Aang looked at Katara, but spoke to the nurse, "How long does it take to come into effect?"

"Oh, it is very quick, mere seconds for the effects to take place."

"Really? That's great!" Aang had turned to face the nurse once more, but turned to Katara again and hugged her gently. The nurse poured the cactus juice into a glass for Katara to drink.

Katara looked at the glass and weakly smiled, "I had always wondered what it would taste like." She took a hesitant sip once it was in her hands and as soon as she got used to the taste she gulped in all down in mere seconds.

Everyone watched her hesitantly, expecting her to do something crazy.

Katara's eyes suddenly opened widely, but then became lidded. A dazed smile appeared on her face and she looked like she was truly not feeling any pain at all. She turned to all her friends and started laughing. This sudden change in attitude made everyone laugh slightly too.

"I feel…GOOD!" Katara said, louder than normal, closing her eyes happily and sinking into her pillows, still laughing.

Sokka grinned, "I'd say that's working pretty well. She's completely out of it!"

The nurse who gave her the glass quickly grabbed it from Katara's hands before she could accidentally break it and placed it on the table beside her. She turned to the gaang and smiled, saying, "Now, this dose will keep her in a daze for most of the day, but for health reasons, we cannot do this everyday. You need a day off from it to recover, but then she'll be free to have another dose."

Everyone nodded and looked down at Katara, who was rocking her head back and forth as if she was listening to some catchy music.

"The other nurses and I will keep a watch on her for a while, but then we will need you all to help us out by watching her as well. Just don't let her hurt herself unintentionally," the nurse spoke.

Everyone replied with some form of, "okay."

"Okay, we'll come for you when we need you to come and watch her," she said, turning around to apply a wet cloth to Katara's forehead, signifying that the conversation had ended. Everyone left to do random activities, and Zuko and Aang went to go practice firebending.

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OoO

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A few hours passed before the nurse came to get Aang for the first shift of watching her. He was pretty happy when she came due to the fact that his firebending training that day had been pretty tough, plus, he enjoyed anytime with Katara.

He walked through the hallways of the ship to her room and found the door closed. He knocked on the door. There was no reply so he figured she had gone to sleep. He slowly opened the door and looked for her on her bed.

He gasped when her body was not there, she was no where in the room. He searched for her everywhere, but she was no where to be found. He wasn't extremely worried, seeing as she couldn't leave the ship and get really lost, but this was still heartpounding. He looked at the bed and saw that the covers had been drawn back as if she was getting out of bed on a normal day.

'She couldn't have gotten that far…' he thought, turning on his heels and jogging down the hall, then he chuckled to himself, 'Gosh…I lost my girlfriend'

He ran around for about fifteen minutes, checking everywhere for Katara, not even trying to check right on deck. After checking every possible room in the ship, he gave up and went to go catch his breath on the deck. He turned to see Zuko standing there, looking extremely weirded out. Katara stood there in a daze, clinging onto Zuko with her arms wrapped around his waist.

Aang's eyes widened and he jogged over.

"Did you loose something?" Zuko asked awkwardly, trying to remove the girl from him as she clung tighter.

Katara started laughing hysterically, "Did YOU know? Firebenders are REALLY warm! Oh! Does this mean you're warm TOO, Aang?" She suddenly looked very confused, "Or…are you a forth warm…Since you have the other elements in you. Here. Let me check for you!"

Aang's eyes widened as he was unprepared for Katara's next move. She lunged herself forward onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Aang wrapped his arms around her as well, but hesitantly.

'I bet this is what the nurses meant by 'accidentally' hurt herself' Aang asked himself, 'I wonder if I should take her back to bed…would she STAY in bed?'

His thoughts were interrupted when Katara squealed with delight. "Haha! You ARE warm! Maybe Avatars are just warm…and firebenders….Avatars and firebenders are warm!"

Zuko chuckled at how drunk she seemed at the moment. Aang spoke back to her, "Yep, now, are you ready to go back to bed, Katara?"

Katara suddenly looked up at him angrily, "NO! I don't want to go to bed! I haven't walked in days!"

"But you're going to hurt yourself, Katara, and I don't want that to happen. So, come on," he said as he wrapped his arm around her and began leading her to her room.

She wiggled out of his grasp and started frolicking around the ship, singing some random song.

Aang stared at her in shock as she then proceeded to start harassing some members of the ship's crew, "Gosh…Katara had told me about the time when Sokka drank cactus juice, but she said that he had only a few sips…this is a whole cupful! Katara!" He then proceeded to sprint after her.

Zuko laughed at him and Aang turned around to ask, slightly annoyed, "Aren't you going to help me?"

The firelord continued to laugh and he said through laughs, "It's your turn to watch her, you're on your own!"

Aang ran up to get her and apologized for her to the crew members. He finally was able to get her to walk upstairs and sit down on her bed.

He decided to just have a conversation with her, so that she wouldn't move around everywhere. He didn't want to have a deep conversation, due to her being so out of it, but he did have many things to talk to her about. He decided that he would talk to her about those things for whenever the cactus juice wore off…as long as she wasn't in a lot of pain.

"So…Katara," he saw her grabbing for a flower that was in a vase not far away from her bed. He grabbed her hand and put it back in her lap. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than ever!" Katara said, still talking louder than usual.

Aang smiled sadly, "That's good…that's really good."

Katara smiled wildly, "Oh yeah, it's good! I'm so happy! I don't feel anything at all!"

"Yeah, but you should still take it easy. We don't want you hurting yourself unintentionally," he quoted the nurses words on the subject. He gently grabbed her shoulders and laid her back on the bed. Katara adjusted her feet so that she was more comfortable and she smiled, in a daze.

"These beds are so comfy, did you know that?" She asked happily, proceeding to hum a little tune.

"Yeah, I do know that, we all have one in our rooms. But I'm usually in here with you."

She smiled and continued to hum.

Trying to keep a conversation going, Aang asked, "What's that song that you're humming?"

"Oh! The one I'm singing now? It's just a song we sang whenever we'd have a party in the south pole when it was someone's birthday," She laughed.

"That's nice," Aang smiled, grabbing her hand, there was a silence as her humming died off, "Do you want to take a nap?"

"Mmmmmkaayyy," Katara hummed, rubbing her eyes and laughing.

Aang grinned and leaned over to hug her. Katara wrapped her arms around him as well with a giggle. After the embrace, Katara fell back into her pillows, eyes closed, continuing to giggle. Aang smiled and pulled the cover over the window of the room, he airbent all of the small lanterns' fires out and walked to the door. The darkness and silence continued only for a few seconds more. Katara's giggling started up again and Aang sighed, but couldn't contain the smile that formed on his lips.

"Katara, I know the cactus juice is still in effect, but you really should rest…" He looked at her through the darkness, pretty sure he was staring right at her.

Katara laughed, "Oh fine, you're no fun." There was a short silence. "Nighty night, Aang!"

Aang grinned, "Sorry, Katara, goodnight."

He walked down the steps of the ship and met up with his friends.

"I've never seen her so happy before in my life," Aang smiled, "It's like all of her troubles have just gone away. I'm kind of glad."

"Yeah," Sokka smiled, but then he got serious, "But, on the other hand, this does not mean we should decrease the importance of this journey. We NEED to get her to the north pole, or she probably will not make it. Quite frankly I'm surprised she's made it this far…."

"We should be getting there in about a week, right?" Suki asked, "Do you think she can make it that long?"

"Maybe, but just barely. I think that when we get closer and we need to find a place to dock the ship, Aang, you should take Katara on Appa into the city and get her to the healers." Zuko answered for Suki, but then turned to Aang.

Aang nodded silently and turned his head to look out one of the ship's windows in thought.

"Is everything okay, Aang?" Sokka asked, "You look kind of out of it, in the creepy way."

Aang snapped out of his thoughts, turning to him, still silent before saying, "Nothing's on my mind really…I'm just worried. I really just want to get there faster…I'd do anything to make sure she got there in time." He turned again to face the window, deep in thought.

"Oh, okay…" Sokka replied, "We're doing everything we can, Aang,"

Aang's eyebrows knitted in frustration, "Yeah, but it's not going to be enough…"

He turned and stormed out of the room, leaving everyone else staring at him in shock.

"What's his deal?" Zuko asked, still looking at the door where Aang left.

"I don't know, but I mean it when I say we're doing everything we can to help her…" Sokka said sadly.

"You can't blame him, though," Suki added, "He loves Katara more than I have ever seen ANYONE love another person. Probably seeing her in pain is just very hard for him."

"I guess…but he's not the only one who has it hard from this situation. Katara's my sister, I don't want her to die either," Sokka spoke again.

Toph spoke up out of the crowd and said, "How 'bout we all stop talking about her dieing and look on the bright side. You know, where she ACTUALLY survives. You all are acting like there's no way to help her. She is perfectly fine right now. Sure, she's on cactus juice, but let's take advantage of the fact that she is happy right now and enjoy it, okay?"

Everyone proceeded to stare at her in silence before Buyou spoke up, "I'm with her! I wanna go play with Aang and Katara!"

Noboru grinned and grabbed Usagi's hand, "We do too!" The three kids ran out of the room to catch up with Aang and see Katara.

Toph took a proud stance and said, "See? Everyone can be happy as long as you just look on the bright side."

Sokka laughed, "Okay, we'll go spend the rest of the day, all together, happy. But I must ask, Toph, what made you suddenly so positive? You always yell at me when I'm an optimist."

"Well, I'm just sick of all you guys being so down all the time nowadays. Until whatever happens to Katara happens, we should just be spending time with her. If anything, in the case that she does…you know…then we should be working hard to make sure we make her last few days the best of her life," Toph stated, beginning to walk after the kids, causing the others to follow as well.

"Now let's go have some fun!"

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OoO

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When they made it to Katara's room, they came just in time to see Aang shut the door behind him. Toph sneakily walked up to the door and placed her ear against it. She whispered to her other friends, "Now, as you all know, spying on these two, is really fun, so lets see if we can hear what they're talking about," She snickered to herself as everyone else grinned and placed their ear on the door.

The muffled voice of Aang came from the door, "I should've guessed you wouldn't go to bed." Katara's muffled laugh came from the room following Aang's voice.

"You know you really should be getting some rest, Katara," Aang spoke again.

Katara laughed again, "Yeah, yeah,"

Aang looked at her half annoyed, half glad she was so happy. He smiled and pulled back her covers. "Well, if you're not going to sleep, you might as well hang out with the rest of us," he smiled and held his hands out for her to grab onto.

He pulled her up as she laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist gently and guiding her to the door. He opened the door and found his friends all there, listening intently to the door. They all slowly looked up at him where they noticed his annoyed glare at them.

"Why is it that every time we are alone, you find a way to spy on us…" Aang muttered to them.

"Oh, Aang…We've had this conversation before. It's not spying. We're observing," Sokka stood up, stretched, and said.

Aang continued his annoyed glare, "Spying, observing, whatever it is, you're all done," then he smiled at them, "We're going to go have fun now. Whatever it takes." He grinned his goofy grin and caused his friends to grin as well.

At the word 'fun', Katara lunged forward and started running down the hallway, screaming something about chasing momo and having a race.

The members of the gang turned and smiled at oneanother and rushed down the hallway chasing after Katara. The kids ran faster and caught up to her as she turned the corner.

The game continued for a while more, going on before and after lunch. They played tag and had races, anything to get their minds off of the drama going on.

"You can't catch me, Aang!" Katara giggled with delight as she turned another corner and dove into a room with the lights off.

Aang laughed as he dove into the room after her, grabbing onto her leg, causing her to fall. She landed on her stomach and let out a small, "Oof!" sound.

Aang immediately gasped, lighting the torches of the room in one quick sweep and seeing that Katara was sitting upright now, clutching her side in slight pain.

'_The juice is wearing off…..'_ Aang feared, looking at her with wide eyes. He kneeled at her side and wrapped his arms around her, "Are you okay, Katara?

She looked like she was in pain, so he stared at her face until her eyes opened and looked at him, "Y-yeah…I'm fine, Aang." She almost immediately formed a smile on her lips after that. She started giggling, but for the rest of the daylong game, she seemed to slightly limp everywhere.

Hours passed and soon it became time for dinner. The game had ended for dinner and the fact that everyone was tired out of their minds. Katara quit the game a bit early due to the cactus juice's effects continuing to drop.

She sat in her room on the bed, leaning over and resting her elbows on her knees. Aang walked in after finishing the round of games they had been playing. He smiled sadly at her, knowing that she was in pain.

Suddenly, the gong sounding that dinner was ready went off and both teens looked up from wherever they were looking. Katara started to slowly sit up. She seemed to be in a bit of pain.

Aang looked at her worriedly, wrapping his arm around her to brace her as she stood. "Are you okay? Do you just want to stay here? I could bring you some food."

Katara shook her head, her eyebrows knitted in pain. "No, I want to spend time with all of you. Today was all of our's big day together. So, I'm going to stick with it until the end." She managed a face smile at the end and finished standing up. She wobbled forward and almost fell. She sighed in frustration.

Aang quickly reached over and picked up a pair of crutches for her. Katara smiled in gratitude and slid the crutches under her arms. She tried to move around in them and didn't find it that hard, so she began making her way down the hallway to the dining hall, Aang following closely behind.

They made it to the dinner table and Aang helped her into a seat. They filled their plates but Katara only took a few bites before becoming woosey. She started dozing off and leaning forward involuntarily. Aang quickly noticed, and his friends began to as well.

"Katara…" He whispered, looking at her worriedly.

When she didn't reply and her eyes closed, he really began to get really worried. He put his hand on her arm to half brace her and to half comfort her. "Katara, do you want to go back to bed? You don't look so good."

Katara slowly turned to him and weakly nodded yes.

Aang stood up and looked down at her. He didn't want to risk her falling over so he just decided to pick her up and carry her down the hallway. As they left, their friends muttered varies forms of "Goodnight, Katara," and "Night,"

Aang carried her all the way to her room and gently laid her down under the covers. He slowly pulled up the covers and tucked her in. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, Katara, I love you,"

Katara's eyes lidded and she whispered in reply, "I love you too, A-aang…goodnight."

The monk stood up and turned to walk to the door. He was about to close the door after blowing out all of the lights when suddenly he heard Katara's faint whimpers of pain. He looked at her worriedly and sadly. Today had been a lie. A false happiness in times of pain and fear. She was never really healed, she just couldn't feel the pain of what happened. And as soon as it went away, the pain came back, just as unbearable as before. This reminded him of the urgency of this journey to the north pole.

They had to get to the north pole soon…and like he said, he would do ANYTHING to get her there…

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**A/N- Woah Nellie! He means business! I wonder what he's gonna do! O_O Anyways, if you are reading this, it probably means you have read this entire chapter…maybe. And if you have, I really really hoped you enjoyed it. It was a little more light hearted in comparison to the past couple of chapters… :/**

**But yeah, please review…please…because when I started this story, I was getting about 8 reviews per chapter…and now I'm lucky to get one… :/**

**But that's okay…I've been a procrastinator…so…well yeah. I suck. I'm sorry, :'(**

**Once again…REVIEW? :'(**

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	17. Chapter 16: His Decision

**READ THE AUTHORS NOTE!**

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**A/N: Hey, guys :) I am just making sure that you read this before reading the chapter. IT IS SHORT. REALLY SHORT. It's not short because I don't love you guys (Not in that way….gosh -_-) or that I don't feel like you deserve a long chapter, which, believe me, you do for how long I wait for some of my chapters. **

**The reason is that this chapter has to end a certain way, and there wasn't much leading up to it. So, I fit in all that I could think of whilst having writers block. Lolzizzle.**

**Next chapter will be longer, I promise, there is a good amount to fit in :) **

**So yeah, here's the chapter, hope you like it, even though it's short :)**

**ALSO, I AM ON SPRING BREAK RIGHT NOW SO MY LAPTOP IS AVAILABLE TO ME ABOUT 18 HOURS A DAY! (Not 24 cuz I have to sleep don't I?) **

**SO, I WILL HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT WITHIN THE WEEK AND IF NOT I WILL HAVE GOTTEN A GREAT START TO IT :D**

**Okay, NOW here's the chapter. :)**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 16:

His Decision

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"Okay, one…two…three….Go!" Aang cheered as Katara stepped forward. She was still quite wobbly and still had problems staying up, especially after all the damage she caused herself a few days before. It had been about three days since she first tried the cactus juice. Two days later, they had given her another dose, and the same results happened. Right now she was still recovering from accidentally tripping down the last few steps of the stairs going below deck. Thankfully she only bruised herself a bit and made herself a bit more sore, rather than breaking a rib or reopening her wound.

Katara took another step, struggling to keep her balance.

Aang grinned as she made her way towards him, this was farther then she had gone in the past hour of trying. She finally gave up from the struggle and fell backwards, landing in a cross-legged position on the ground. She winced as a small pain shot up her side.

Aang sighed with a smile and kneeled down next to her, "At least you got farther this time."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter, I still am no use to anyone. What if Kang-Dae comes up from the city and attacks us. I'd be dead in a matter of minutes," the girl muttered.

Aang shook his head sadly, "No, you wouldn't. Because you're not going into battle again."

Katara looked up and stared at him, wide-eyed, "Wh-what? What do you mean? Of course I'm going to go into battle!"

"No, Katara," Aang closed his eyes tightly, "I don't want you getting hurt again…"

"Well, I know I just said I'd be dead in a matter of minutes, but forget it, I won't get hurt by him again! I want to fight him! If anything, it would be payback for what he did to me," Katara said, smiling sadly.

"I know, but I…I just can't stand to see you in pain. On that day…I…I couldn't bare it. You were in such horrible pain and I didn't have any way of making it stop!" Aang cried, a few tears forming in his eyes as he thought about the battle.

"But you healed m-,"

"Yeah, but after you **died**!" Aang shouted, "I failed you that day."

Katara faintly smiled, remembering her visit to the spirit world, "Aang…I'm….well I'm actually really glad you waited till then to heal me."

Aang looked at her, confused, "But…what? Why?"

"Well…when I…yeah…I went to the spirit world…" She looked down at her lap, "Or at least I think I did."

Aang looked at her in shock, "Really? That's cool! I mean…It's cool that you went there…but….I mean-,"

Katara smiled, "I get what you're saying," She looked back down at her lap, "I'm just glad I got to go there…because my mom was there…."

Aang's eyes widened and he asked, "She was?" his eyes softened and he smiled, "That's great, Katara, I'm glad…" There was a silence, "Did you get to talk to her?"

"Yeah…we didn't have much time together though. I wanted to talk to her about my life and-," She broke off as a pain shot up her side, she winced and continued, but raspier this time, "and everything that has happened lately…But she did tell me she loved me…and I guess that's all I really needed right then…"

"I'm so sorry, Katara," Aang sighed, looking at her sadly.

"It's okay…-ah!-," she cried out softly, grabbing at her side, "I guess if you think about it…I never should have seen her anyways. I wasn't supposed to die then…so…I guess I can wait until I die to tell her about everything." She suddenly closed her eyes tightly, still holding her aching side, and began to whimper slightly in pain.

Aang was worried when she first started having these bursts of pain, but now he was just scared. Maybe she really was getting worse.

"Katara, are you okay?" Aang asked her, looking her intently in the eyes.

Katara opened her eyes to look at him, "Yeah…I guess, but it just hurts to move and talk. It really burns."

'_Wait. Burning? I hope it's not her infection!' _Aang worried, standing up and holding out his hand for her. "Here, lets get you to a nurse."

She looked up weakly at him, "Alright…"

They took their time getting to the nurse because Aang didn't want Katara to strain herself by walking to fast. She did eventually make it to one of them by walking by herself with Aang helping her slightly.

The nurse laid her down on the infirmary bed and had her take off her robe. She undid the bandages on her stomach and her eyes grew wide at the sight.

A large red blotch had formed around the wound and she reached out to touch the edge of it to confirm her suspicion. Katara loudly cried out when her gloved finger touched it. Aang looked at her in fear and brushed some hair out of her face.

"The infection is spreading, a lot. And if we don't stop it before it reaches her heart, there's nothing we can do…" The nurse explained, looking at them sadly.

"What! Isn't there anything you can do? There has to be! Please!" Aang cried, looking at the nurse, a pleading look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but we're just going to have to wait and see what happens…For now, though, I can go try and see if I can get the engine room to try and speed up the ship. Though that might mean a few more fuel stops, but I think we'll be fine. The North Pole is about four days away." The nurse told them, and slightly bowed before leaving the room.

There was silence for a minute before Katara began to cry, looking down and biting her lip, her eyes tightening to try and prevent the tears from falling. Aang noticed and looked at her sadly and fearfully, "Hey, Katara, shhhh, what's wrong?" He comforted her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't want to die…I'm so scared…" Katara cried, her fists tightening, and tears streaming down her mocha cheeks.

Aang's eyes widened exponentially as she made that comment, flashing back to the moment during the battle where she almost said those exact words…

_"I'm scared…"_

He remembered that moment perfectly. He hated seeing her in so much pain that she believed she would die with all her heart. He hated hearing her so scared and innocent.

He stared at her a moment before tears streamed down his cheeks as well. He bit his lip and closed his eyes a minute in thought, then he walked up to her.

"Don't worry, Katara….I have a plan…."

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Later in the day, Aang was walking down one of the hallways of the ship carrying a sleeping bag in his arms. Sokka passed him and noticed the determined and worried look in his eyes.

"Hey, you okay, Aang?" Sokka turned and asked as he looked at the young airbender.

Aang turned as well, looking very nervous, "Umm, uh, yeah." He put on a fake smile and spun on his heels, returning to his speed walking down the hallway.

Sokka looked at him strangely before continuing on his way. He walked down to meet up with the kids to give them another warrior lesson.

When Sokka made it to the deck to meet with the kids, he saw them in a deep conversation about something. He didn't know what it was about, but he didn't think it was important. Noboru's voice was the first one he heard.

"But why would he do that?"

Then Buyou responded, "Well, I guess what he's doing is pretty important…"

"Still, I wish he wouldn't go…"

Sokka began to wonder what they were talking about now, so he asked, "Soo, what are you little warriors talking about?" He had began to call them little warriors lately since they were in his…"warrior class"

They suddenly looked very worried when they noticed Sokka walking forward. They all almost spoke at the same time when they said, "What? What are you talking about! We're not talking about anything! No! Not at all…."

Their faces were red with fear and they clamped their hands behind their backs to hide their twiddling fingers.

Sokka stared at them suspiciously before continuing on with the warrior class, teaching them a few more sword/staff techniques that he had learned from Piandao.

Later on in the day, late afternoon, Sokka was taking a walk around the perimeter of the ship with Suki when he saw Aang walk quickly up the stairs leading to the deck. The kids were waiting for him and when he walked up, he led them over to the corner of the deck opposite Sokka.

Sokka saw them kneel on the ground and talk about something, and Aang was looking very serious, but nervous. He didn't know what Aang was talking about, but it had to be dealing with what the kids were talking about that morning.

The kids suddenly all ran to hug him and Aang gladly excepted the hug. He stood up and smiled at them before walking up to one of the dragon horses that the kids had named, Mizuku. Sokka stared at him and tried to put everything together, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Aang stroked the fast creature's neck and mane and smiled before patting it's neck as a form of 'goodbye'. Aang stared to walk back down the deck stairs, but Sokka really wanted to talk to him, he was being suspicious. Before he had the chance though, Toph ran up to the airbender and he turned to face her. Aang looked more nervous suddenly and Sokka stared at him strangely. Aang looked around the deck cautiously and spotted him, his eyes growing wide.

Aang put his arm around Toph and led her down the steps of the deck, intending to speak with her in private.

'_What is he hiding from me?' _Sokka angrily thought inside of his head.

A few minutes later, Sokka decided to go to follow Aang to find out what he was planning behind his back. He saw Toph and him walk upstairs and Aang turned to go upstairs, most likely to Katara's room.

The irritated warrior snuck behind him and found out that he was indeed going to Katara's room. Aang closed the door behind him and Sokka slid up to the door, placing his ear at the crack of the door to hear.

He heard Aang begin to whisper for a few moments, but he couldn't make out what he was saying. Suddenly, there was a silence. Sokka listened closer and didn't hear anything until Aang yelled at him, "Having fun 'observing', Sokka?" He could tell the airbender was using air quotes just by his tone of voice.

Sokka opened the door and saw Aang crouching down on the floor next to Katara's bed, staring at Sokka with an annoyed glare. Katara's bright blue eyes looked at him curiously as well.

Sokka once again tried to defend himself, "I wasn't spying, or observing, or whatever you want to call it. I was simply walking down the hallway when you just so happened to yell at me."

Aang's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "There are two things wrong with that statement: 1. You know I have Toph's vibration-feeling abilities, right? I knew you were crouching right by the door. I even felt you following me up here. And 2. I can tell you were lying because of it too…."

"Ugh..bending…" Sokka muttered, but then he spoke, "Aang, I just want to know what you're hiding from me! You've been acting so suspicious all day long and I want to know what you're planning!"

Aang's eyes widened, but then closed to say, "I can't tell you, Sokka,"

"Well, why not!" Sokka yelled at him and Aang flinched backwards.

"I really can't tell you that either," Aang stood up, "Now please, Sokka, let me talk to Katara in private. I'm not trying to be mean…or rude….I just…have to talk to her. It's very important."

Sokka looked at him, now his eyes showing the annoyed glare that Aang once had, "Fine. But don't try anything reckless." He turned on his heels and walked to the door before turning to face Katara, his tone softening, "I hope you feel better, Katara,"

Katara smiled softly at him.

Sokka closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway, still wondering what Aang was planning.

Aang looked sadly at the door Sokka left from and sighed, telling Katara, "It's not that I want to keep things from him…It's just he wouldn't let me go through with it. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do it anyways…."

"I-I'll go with whatever you decide, Aang," Katara softly smiled and looked at him.

Aang cupped her cheek, "I know, but I don't want to do anything that you aren't comfortable with. If you don't want to go, then I won't take you." He looked at her compassionately.

Katara smiled sadly, "I told you…I'm fine either way…."

Aang frowned, "But you could die…And I'm not about to let that happen…."

Katara took a deep breath and grabbed her side, hoping to stop the growing pain in her side. Aang wiped a small tear from her eye and brushed a stray strand of her hair to the side. She smiled sadly at him and he climbed under the covers with her to comfort her.

About an hour later, around six, the dinner gong rang and Aang gently roused Katara, asking her if she was up for going to dinner instead of having him bring it. She nodded, saying that she would rather exercise her legs in getting there than sit around all day.

Aang smiled and got out of the bed, holding his hand out for her to grab. She grinned and took it. When she got into a standing position, Aang wrapped his arms around her waist, careful about her infection, and kissed her softly.

She gladly kissed back, but then looked to the side to motion towards the brown robe she had been wearing around the ship. Aang saw it and smiled, reaching over to grab it off of it's hook. He tied it loosely around her and hugged her, wrapping his arm around her and leading her to dinner.

Once there, Katara painfully slid herself into a seat and Aang slid her chair in for her. He sat next to her and looked at her sadly as she placed a timid hand on her wound. Sokka came in and sat across from him, still looking at him as if staring at him would tell him his plans. Everyone else sat down and everyone Aang had talked to (The kids and Toph, but Toph can't see….so) looked at him.

Aang looked at them as well, but gave the kids a silent sign telling them to stay quiet about everything. The nodded in agreement.

Dinner was quiet except for a few small conversations. Katara wasn't able to make it back to her room though, she fainted about half way there. Aang caught her before she hit the ground though.

They safely got her into bed a few minutes later, where she shook with pain from the infection. Aang made his decision then. He was going to go through with his plan no matter what. There was no stopping him now.

That night, he went through with his plan. He carried a large pack on his shoulders and snuck on deck to the dragon horse. He attached the pack to the horse's back and added a strap around it's belly so he could attach something else. He quickly ran back to Katara's room and found her half-asleep. He cupped her face in his hands.

"Katara, we're going to leave now, I've made my decision…And you said you'd go with whatever I decided, right?"

Katara nodded slowly with lidded eyes.

"Okay, then let's go," He said, a serious look in his eyes. He grabbed Katara's robe from the wall and helped her get it on. He then grabbed a hooded cloak from a hook on the wall as well and slid it over her, saying, "I saw some storm clouds in the distance…"

He grabbed his staff and Momo flew over to him. Aang gave the small lemur a hug and told him they'd see each other soon.

Aang scooped Katara up in his arms and quickly carried her out to the horse. He slid her into the sleeping bag on the dragon-horse's back and strapped her in. He kissed her forehead and pulled the hood over her head. He quickly walked over to Appa and pet his forehead before giving him a hug, repeating his words to Momo to the large bison.

Suddenly, all of his friends ran down the stairs to the deck. Sokka angrily exclaimed, "Where do you think you're going, Aang?"

Aang's eyes widened and he used his airbending to lunge backwards by the dragon-horse.

"I'm getting Katara to the North Pole no matter what! No one is going to stop me! At the rate this ship is going, we won't make it there for a little less than a week! On a dragon-horse, I could get her there in about two days!" Aang yelled to his friends.

"This isn't the way to do this, Aang! It's safer for her on this ship," Sokka reasoned.

"That may be true…but this is a matter of time now. Her infection will kill her in less than the time it will take the ship to get there. She'll be fine in my hands." Aang reasoned as well, looking at the watertribe warrior angrily.

Katara turned to face them from her spot on the horse, saying, "I'm fine, Sokka, I agree with Aang's reasoning. I don't have much time left…"

Sokka and the others looked at them worriedly. Suddenly, a crack of thunder came in the distance and the pouring rain followed.

Sokka wouldn't allow this nonetheless, "Do you see this, Aang! This is a storm for pete's sake! She won't make it if you take her out there. I won't let you!" He charged forward and prepared to tackle Aang to stop him, but Aang used some of the metal from the ship to create a wall to stop him.

"I'm leaving now and you won't stop me, Sokka…" Aang told him from behind the wall.

Sokka gritted his teeth and turned to Toph, "Metalbend this down, Toph!"

Toph looked at him sadly and shook her head, "No, Sokka, Katara will be fine."

Sokka understood now why he was talking to Toph earlier, Aang had planned this out from the start and he even knew that he was going to try and tackle him. He told Toph so she wouldn't help Sokka through the metal wall. And Aang had to find out how to ride the dragon-horses, so he asked the kids, who must have wanted to know why he needed to know how.

Sokka sighed, "Fine, Aang…just….take care of her."

Aang lowered the wall and nodded at him with a small smile, "I intend to…"

Aang hopped onto the back of the horse, sitting backwards. He lifted Katara's head and shoulders up to rest against his chest comfortably. He muttered "bye" to them and shouted, "Hae!"

The dragon horse bounded into the sky and everyone watched as the couple disappeared into the sky.

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**A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for the shortness of this. The next one should be around 4,500-6,000 words. :) **

**Also, if you could all tell me what length you would like this chapter to be, it would be greatly appreciated. Some people like long chapters and some people like short ones. Just tell me which ones you like in a review :)**


	18. Chapter 17: Running out of Time

**A/N: So…I feel really accomplished. :) I mean…I got this chapter out in 6….days…. SIX DAYS PEOPLE. XD I am excited. If only I could keep this pace up, lol. That would be a miracle. **

**Anyways, so, after my small, not too suspenseful cliffhanger in the last chapter (I know, it wasn't really that cliffhangerish, but oh well), we know find ourselves journeying with Aang as he desperately tries to get Katara to safety. Dun dun dunnnn. **

**I hope you enjoy it! It's more words than last chapter, but still definitely not my longest chapter, lol. But yeah, here it is. And also…Disregard the Author's Note at the bottom of this page…It will confuse you SO MUCH. And you will think I am really weird for putting that at the bottom of the page so randomly. I'm not…THAT weird…. -_-' Just disregard it and nice and easily click on the review button, kay? And if you really must know what it was all about, you can just ask me in said review ^.^ And I will explain it to you. :)**

**Thanks! Now here's the chapter! :D**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 17:

Running out of Time

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Aang looked sorrowfully back at his friends as he flew away from them on the dragon-horse. He didn't want to have to leave. He wished that they could all travel together, but this needed to be done.

He wrapped his arms tighter around Katara to steady her as she spoke, "S-so, we're going to the North Pole?" She tried to turn and look at him, but realized that her 'bed' arrangements were too tight to even allow that.

"Yeah," Aang spoke softly, slightly leaning over to see if the ship was still in view. He could picture his friends standing there in the rain, watching him and Katara disappear into the dark sky.

"C-can I go back to bed now, Aang?" Katara timidly asked, leaning back against his chest and turning her head, trying to avoid the rain that was splashing onto her face.

Aang realized how tired she must be…He did wake her up from her nap, "Yeah," He smiled, "And don't worry about the rain, I am going to find us someplace to stay the night soon."

He contemplated going back to the ship, to stay the night there and leave when the rain passed. But how could he face them? They'd never let him leave then. They would separate the two, and make sure there was no way he could take her.

He hated his lack of planning. But he couldn't blame himself, he only saw the storm clouds a few hours before they left. He still wished he didn't have to put Katara in these conditions. He did grab an umbrella though…

He slid the umbrella open and covered Katara with it, he leaned back and told the horse, "I don't know if you can understand me as well as Appa or Momo can, but I'll talk to you anyway. I know that carrying everything is hard, but I'll get off as soon as the rain stops."

Mizuku, the dragon-horse, neighed in response. Aang smiled and looked around for the next half-hour before spotting a cave in a small nearby set of mountains. He grinned and maneuvered Mizuku into the cave. The dragon-horse trotted to a stop and shook out his wings and mane. Aang laughed when the water splashed him.

He slid out from behind Katara and got her unlatched from the horse's back. He carried her and gently set her down, laying with her head against a rock. He quickly unloaded some of the supplies and started a fire.

Katara had fallen asleep a few minutes after asking if she could sleep.

Aang walked over to her slowly and cradled her in his arms, carrying her closer to the fire and setting her down so she could be warm. He noticed that she had been shivering.

Aang looked out of the cave and saw the storm raging on. He sighed and watched as Katara whimpered in pain. He slid off her hood and combed through her hair with his fingers.

Minutes passed before Katara woke up. Her head was resting on Aang's lap and her eyes slowly fluttered open. It took her a few moments to realize where she was, but once she noticed Aang gently poking the fire with a small stick, she realized that she was on her way to the North Pole with Aang.

She suddenly tried to sit up, wanting to know where they were, but she quickly fell back due to the pain it had caused her. She gritted her teeth and squinted up at him, "W-where are we, Aang?"

"We're in a cave on the way to the North Pole. The rain became to much for Mizuku to fly in and I had to get you to a warm spot to sleep. Hopefully the rain will die down or stop by morning, that way we can get going faster and increase your chances of well…living," he gave her a half smile at his last comment.

Then he changed the subject, "Are you hungry? I brought some food if you are."

"No, not really…b-but are you hungry?" Katara weakly asked, feeling herself grow even more tired.

Aang looked sadly at her, saying, "No, not right now, but even if I was, that food's for you, not me."

Katara looked at him worriedly, "Are you saying you're not going to eat anything?"

"Two days isn't that long, Katara, don't worry," He smiled at her and stroked some of her hair behind her ear. He kissed her forehead and she got quiet, nuzzling into his lap and beginning to gently breathe, as if she was going to bed. Aang took this as his queue to get up. He slid out from under her and went to grab a pillow. He placed it under her head and she sighed in slight comfort.

He wanted to fix her sleeping arrangements so that they were more comfortable for her and seeing that her sleeping bag was dripping wet, he wanted to help her.

He undid the sleeping bag and eventually got her out of it, gently switching her to a soft mat. He walked over to the horse once more to grasp a soft blanket from a bag. He walked back to his sleeping girlfriend and gently placed it over her.

He watched as she curled up into a ball underneath the covers and wrapped her arms around her side. She gritted her teeth and whimpered in pain.

'_When will her pain stop…?' _Aang thought to himself, gently massaging her head to give her at least some comfort. He laid down next to her and gently took her face into his hands, softly kissing her forehead before curling up and falling asleep next to her.

When he woke up, the sky was dim. He noticed Katara's sleeping form still in pain, but resting nonetheless. He braced himself and stood up, dusting himself off slightly due to the dirt that got on him from the cave floor. He walked up to the opening of the cave and peaked out, seeing that the rain was only slight. They would definitely leave this morning, but he wanted to get Katara some food before then.

He started preparing some rice and vegetables for her and almost had it done by the time she woke up. She only barely opened her eyes as she asked for him, "A-aang?"

Aang quickly jumped to her side, putting his hand on her shoulder and looking into her lidded eyes. "What is it, Katara? Do you need anything?"

She moaned slightly in pain before struggling to answer, "N-no…I-I'm just tired and it's really hurting. C-could you check…it for me?"

Aang gasped at how much the infection was hurting her. He snapped out of his thoughts as she broke into a series of coughs, constricting her body into a tight ball as she continued to shake. Aang's eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around her as she coughed, continually saying gentle words to her.

When she stopped, she uncurled her ball and whimpered in pain, biting her lower lip and squeezing her eyes shut as she cried.

The sight of her in so much pain wanted to make him cry as well…

He wrapped his arms firmer around her and lifted her into a sitting position, her back against his chest. Thankfully they were close enough to the newly started fire for Aang to be able to one-handedly finish scooping out Katara's meal. He helped her eat it as she cried.

Then he said, "I will check it for you once you're done eating, okay, Katara?"

She weakly nodded in response.

When she was finished, he laid back against the wall of the cave and let Katara rest against his chest. He gently rubbed up and down her arm to comfort her as she fell into a blissful sleep.

When he was sure that she was out, he laid her down softly on the ground and undid her robe. He unwrapped her bandages, which needed to be changed anyways. He saw that the growing red infection extended about an inch in the past day. Which means that if it spread at that rate, the infection would spread very close to her heart. He couldn't keep track of it though, once it spread to underneath her chest wrappings. He wouldn't invade Katara's privacy that much.

At the moment, the infection was about the size of Aang's spread out hand, just nearing the start of her chest wrap.

He wrapped new bandages around her and gently lifted her up and got her into her now dry and warm sleeping bag. He strapped her in and one again slid her hood over her head. There wasn't much rain, but there was enough to bother someone.

He put everything back into their containers and grabbed his glider.

He walked up to Mizuku and placed his hand on his neck. He walked the large creature to the opening of the cave and shouted, "Hae!"

The dragon-horse bounded into the air and Aang quickly took off as well on his glider. He flew above the horse so he could see Katara in case she needed anything.

There was still about a day and a half of flying to go, at the least, and Aang was starting to get worried. They flew for a few hours before Katara woke up, without a doubt, in pain. Aang flew down closer to ask her, "Katara, are you okay?"

Katara struggled to look at him but when she saw him she winced and forced a smile, "Y-yeah, I'm fine…."

Aang looked down at her sadly and said, "Okay…but the second you need something, I'll stop and get you it…okay?"

Katara winced, "…Okay"

Aang gave her a carrot to eat as they flew so that she would get some nutrition in.

Once she was done, Aang forced himself to give her an encouraging smile and watched as she fell once more into a deep sleep.

It was nighttime when she had woken up and they stopped to rest by a clearing near a river. Aang once again had food ready for her. He smiled and lifted her into a sitting position. She looked like she was in a lot of pain and she repeatedly told him to put her down because it hurt. Aang quickly obliged and set her down quickly, yet softly.

Katara whimpered when she was put down and turned her head to the side to face Aang.

Aang kneeled down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder, to calm her. "Hey, hey, shhhhh, Katara, tell me what hurts."

"W-what do you think?" Katara yelled as loud as she could, her pain speaking for her. Aang knew that she wasn't really mad at him, her pain was just making her seem angry.

Aang sighed, taking water from the air and freezing it, placing the flat ice sheet over her bandages to cool them down and offer some relief. Katara almost instantly sighed in relief and fell unconscious.

Aang didn't know much about medical treatment for this kind of injury, but he knew that Katara shouldn't be passing out this much. That is, unless it was really really serious. He knew that this was bad…and that it could kill her…but it shouldn't be this bad, right?

He laid down beside her, the bowl of food he would have given her resting near the fire.

He took a quick thirty minute nap before deciding that this was not a time for him to be resting. He gently scooped the wounded waterbender into his arms and settled her into her sleeping bag on the horse's back.

Mizuku looked tired and neighed in exhaustion and Aang walked up to him, stroking his mane and saying, "Don't worry. Next time we rest I'll get you more to eat and we'll rest a bit longer. But we have to get going, Mizuku."

Mizuku neighed sadly and watched as Aang packed up the rest of the stuff. Aang grabbed his glider and took off, whilst yelling, "Hae!" down to Mizuku. Soon enough, they were flying at high speeds through the air and Aang found himself getting more and more tired from flying his glider due to Mizuku flying so fast.

He could see that the horse REALLY wanted to get to their destination so he could rest.

Aang managed, though, due to his determination to keep Katara safe. '

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After miles and miles of flying, Aang found that the sun was coming up on the horizon, meaning that they would arrive at the North Pole most likely around late afternoon.

He flew closer to Katara and saw that she was gritting her teeth in pain. He looked at her worriedly, with wide eyes. His eyes formed tears in them as she cried out numerous times from the pain. They were running out of time.

He urged Mizuku to keep going, even though he knew that both of them were spent. He was amazed that the horse had even gotten this far.

'_How is it that they accepted us so quickly after we stole them?' _Aang thought in wonder, '_I guess it would make sense…the energybenders are probably cruel to them. And under the intensive loving care from Buyou, Noboru, and Usagi, they are probably having a blast! Mizuku probably doesn't like this mission, though…I can't blame him, I can't really say I like it either. But it's necessary for Katara to live.'_

Aang seemed to doze off a bit and his grumbling stomach woke him up. He shook his head back and forth to shake himself out of his daze and he used one hand to grab his stomach. It grumbled loudly and he looked down at Katara, who was still slightly writhing in pain.

'_No…the food's for Katara…whenever she wakes up….She'll be up any minute now and I'm sure she'll be hungry. She hasn't eaten since she had that carrot for lunch yesterday.' _Aang thought to himself, looking sadly at her.

His stomach growled again and he sighed, continuing on with their flight towards the North Pole.

He looked down and saw a small island with a village on it. He smiled as he saw children running through the village with pets and having a great time. That is…until he saw the ships dock there…

He got Mizuku to slow down and Aang watched as an army of men stormed the village. Aang watched silently, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. He saw lights flare from small buildings that some men had ran though.

"No…" Aang whispered in shock, "No, they can't be here!"

He continued to fly and watch as the village was raided and the once happy children fell helplessly to the ground unconscious from their energy being stolen.

Aang gritted his teeth in anger. They were flying in the clouds, and very high as well, so they most likely did not notice them. He couldn't give away their position if he wanted to get Katara to the North Pole safely. His mind was conflicted with what to do: Help the citizens of this small town? Or save Katara from her death.

Either way, he would beat himself up over his decision.

He hated himself for it, but he flew by the town, leaving the village to whatever fate awaited them. He cried in anger and sadness about what he had done, but Katara meant more to him than anyone else. He swore to her he'd keep her safe from harm. She was near death anyways, and he couldn't risk it.

They sped past, the village disappearing as they grew distant. Aang just hoped the Energybenders spared their lives.

Three hours passed before the small icebergs came into view. Aang's mouth opened in a smile in happiness. He glanced down and saw that Katara was still moaning in pain, so she was alive. He looked at her sadly, but his heart raced in happy anticipation that they were almost there, that she would almost be healed.

They soared through the sky faster than they ever had before because they both seemed to sense that they were close to the big watertribe city, even though Mizuku had never been anywhere near it.

When the city came into view, Aang almost cried in relief. They landed softly on the icy ground of the city right near the healing hut. Aang quickly returned his glider to it's staff form and rushed to Katara, unwrapping her from her sleeping bag and carrying her in his weak arms. He ran into the healing hut where Yugoda was teaching a healing class. They gasped when he entered with the injured girl.

"Please help, Yugoda, Katara was injured and she really needs to be healed," Aang pleaded with her as everyone in the room continued to stare.

After a few seconds, Yugoda hastily responded, "Well, then set her down on the mat, quick, quick!"

Aang did as he was told, gently setting her down. Once she was safely on the mat, he stepped back as the girls all began to help undo the bandages and reveal the wound.

He leaned against he wall of the hut and slid to the floor in exhaustion.

Yugoda turned around, telling Aang, "It appears that the wound's infection has spread to some places that I don't believe Katara would like you seeing. So, if you could possibly wait outside, that would be appreciated." She smiled at him softly.

Aang understood, he knew that the infection was spreading fast to certain places. He turned and slowly exited the hut, walking over to Mizuku and grabbing him all of the vegetables that Katara didn't eat because she never woke up.

They'd have food for her there anyways.

A man ran up and offered to take Mizuku to the stables for a warmer place to rest and Aang smiled, letting him take the winged horse. Aang sat, his knees to his chest, as he waited for them to be done healing his girlfriend. He was so glad that they made it to the North Pole. He'd finally be able to take Katara into his arms and hug her without worrying about if he'd hurt her or not. He wanted to see her happy again.

Suddenly a girl sprinted out of the hut, running up some stairs and seeming in a big rush. Aang caught up with her and as she continued to run he asked her, "Where are you going? Is something wrong?"

The girl nodded hastily, "Yeah, that girl isn't going to make it unless I get some spiritual water from the oasis." She ran faster and Aang stopped, looking at her in shock, as he contemplated what she said. She could die! Any minute, his one and only love could be gone. He really wished that he could enter the hut to see what was going on, or at least hold her hand, but he knew that Katara had privacy that he respected.

About a minute later, the girl returned with a small bottle full of the spiritual water. She ran into the hut and everything became silent. Aang watched the opening of the hut intently, waiting for something to happen or someone to come out.

A few minutes passed before anyone spoke or came out. Yugoda was the first one to come out, a solemn expression on her face.

"Is…Is she?" Aang studdered, his eyes widening in fear, and his heart pounding hard in his chest.

"No, we were able to stop the infection right before it reached her heart."

Aang sighed with relief and a large grin appeared on his face, tears of joy streaming down the sides of his face. "So she's okay! This is great!"

"Wait…that's not all I have to say…." Yugoda spoke softly.

Aang turned to face her, the fear in him returning as she said those words, "Wh-what do you mean? You said she's healed…"

"Yes…but she appears to have gone comatose. We have no idea when she'll wake up…" Yugoda said sadly, looking into Aang's eyes.

Aang's happiness slowly dwindled away, leaving him staring at the ground, an upset expression on his face.

"Do not give up hope, I'm sure she'll wake up in maybe a few days or a week…she only went comatose because of the pain she endured before we healed her, so now that she has a decent amount of her wound healed, she will be more likely to wake up sooner," Yugoda smiled.

Aang mentally smiled, but he was more focused on another thing she said, "Wait…what do you mean by 'a decent amount'…Isn't she healed completely?"

Yugoda frowned sadly, "No, I'm afraid not. The amount of time between the time of the incident and the healing greatly effects the healing quality. We'll have to heal her wound for at least a week, two times a day before she's fine again."

Aang gaped at her words, but regained his composure, "Oh…I understand…"

Yugoda smiled encouragingly, "But don't worry, she'll be fine, just have a little faith, she's a strong girl."

Aang smiled as well, "Yeah…she is."

Yugoda then put her hands on her hips, "Well, since you look like you haven't slept in days and I keep on hearing your stomach rumbling I can guess that you need a bit of rest and some food. Here, I'll take you to Chief Arnook. He'll have a nice bed for you and something to eat." She smiled and led Aang to the Chief's house so that he could regain his strength while Katara heals.

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Katara winced as a light shown into her eyes. She felt woosy, but strangely calm and peaceful. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes before looking around the blue-tinted ice room. It took her a few moments to realize just where she was.

'_Wait…the healing hut? At the North Pole? Why am I-," _Katara began to wonder, but then she remembered her injury, quickly grabbing for her side to find her bandages or something of that matter.

There were a few bandages wrapped around her middle, covering the wound itself, but the infection was gone.

'_It's gone! The infection went away! Meaning….Aang got me here in tine!' _She mentally cheered, feeling along her side for the pain that she had been feeling ever since the battle. She found that it only hurt if she touched it too hard, but that wasn't that bad.

Yugoda walked in with a smile, holding a coat folded over her arm.

"Yugoda! D-did you heal me?" Katara asked happily, trying to sit up from the small mat she was laying on.

She sat up easily with almost no pain but a tiny pinch, she was overwhelmed with joy as she turned to Yugoda for her reply, "Yes, we've been healing you for the past two days now, you went into a short coma. We thought you'd be unconscious for longer, but it seems as though you're up earlier and doing fine!"

Katara smiled and tears of relief and joy formed in her eyes, "Thank you, Yugoda, so much!"

Yugoda softly smiled before saying, "Well, you might as well say hello to your boyfriend. He's been beating himself up about everything that's happened and I think he needs some happiness."

Katara smiled and slid her feet from under the covers of the makeshift bed, she placed her feet onto the floor and giggled as she easily stood up, only wobbling a bit because of the lack of use.

She was about to exit the hut before Yugoda tapped her on the shoulder and gave her the coat as she turned. Katara smiled gratefully at her and exited the hut, looking for Aang.

She saw him leaning against the railings of one section of the canals. She saw that he was wearing a coat now, even though he didn't need one, due to his breathing techniques to keep him warm. Katara limped slightly as she walked out the doorway, realizing that she wasn't fully healed, but a good portion had been done.

She regained her composure before quietly saying, "Aang?"

This was enough for him to hear and he quickly spun around, meeting her gaze, his eyes and grin widening as he saw her, "Katara?"

Katara grinned happily and started running towards him, losing her limp in the process. Aang ran towards her as well, intending to catch her in his arms.

Sure enough, their small plan worked as Katara lunged for him and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly as Aang spun her around. Unfortunately, though, they did not remember the concept of ice being slippery, and Aang fell backwards, taking Katara with him.

They landed with a thud on the icy ground, laughing and giggling even though the fall had caused them pain.

Katara lifted herself slightly from on top of Aang and grinned at him, still laughing. Aang looked up at her as well, the brightness in his eyes returning as his happiness came back. Katara leaned down and softly yet passionately kissed him. Aang eagerly kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her.

Seconds later, Katara pulled back and rolled off Aang. Aang quickly jumped up and helped her up, once again taking her into his arms and embracing her. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed his presence with her.

Katara had tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she nuzzled into Aang's neck, holding onto him and feeling his warmth.

They broke apart, both finding the other smiling and crying. They kissed once more and continued to grin, wiping away each other's tears. Their moment of happiness together was short-lasting, however, because of Sokka's angry footsteps parading up the steps towards the healing hut.

"Aang! I can't believe you did that! Where is she? I swear if she's gone I am going to-," Sokka started to yell as he made his way up the steps. He had not yet seen Katara, but he cut off as soon as he did.

He sprinted up to her, grabbing her shoulders firmly yet gently, "Are you okay?"

Katara looked up at him wide-eyed and said, "Sokka, I'm fine. Yugoda healed me and I'm feeling great." She smiled at him before quickly covering her nose to sneeze.

Sokka suddenly got very angry, turning to Aang and yelling, "You see what you've done? You've gone and got her sick! She would have been better off with us!"

Aang looked at him in fear as Yugoda quickly walked out of the healing hut, saying, "Do not be yelling at him, young man. If Aang had been even a few minutes later, Katara would not have made it. If anything, you should be thanking him. Yes, Katara is showing the symptoms of a cold, but it is a small price to pay compared to what could have happened."

Sokka calmed down and stepped back from Aang, looking down at the ground saying, "Alright…I guess you're right."

Yugoda smiled and put her hand on Katara's shoulder, saying, "Could you come in for a little while? We need to heal you some more."

Katara smiled warmly at Yugoda, nodding her head yes and walking with her into the healing hut.

Sokka and Aang watched as the two disappeared into the hut before Aang quickly turned to Sokka, asking in a somewhat loud voice, "What is wrong with you! You seem to criticize everything I do nowadays! Am I that irritating to you? What am I doing wrong!"

Sokka looked down at the ground sadly before meeting Aang's gaze, he sighed before saying, "I'm not…mad at you. I'm just worried for Katara's sake. I just don't trust anyone with her, not even you. I mean…I know that you are probably the perfect guy for her and if I could trust anyone not to harm her, it's you…but I can't get it out of my head that she is my baby sister and I have to do whatever it takes to keep her from harm."

He looked towards the healing hut with a sad smile on his face, "And when I saw her in so much pain from what happened…I just somewhat blamed you because you were there when it happened."

Aang understood what he was saying and smiled, "It's okay, Sokka, I don't blame you. I just want you to know that I'd never EVER let her get hurt like this again. I promise to protect her no matter what happens."

Sokka sighed again, "Okay…and I trust you to keep that promise."

Aang smiled and looked out towards the ocean, "So, where are we headed now?"

"Well, maybe we should start training again for the battle with the energybenders. We have to be ready for whenever they surface," Sokka suggested proudly.

Unfortunately, this triggered Aang's memory of what he saw take place earlier that day. "Wait…Sokka….I have some bad news…REALLY bad news."

Sokka looked at him strangely, but asked, "And what's that?"

"The…The Energy benders have surfaced, Sokka," Aang muttered, loud enough for Sokka to hear though.

"Wh-what?" Sokka exclaimed in fear, "How did you find this out!"

"I saw them invade a small village about 200 miles south of here…" Aang said worriedly.

"Oh no…What if they start invading the Fire Nation? Or the Earth Kingdom! We have to stop them Aang," Sokka said, fear evident in his voice.

Aang sighed, "I know," and then he looked up, a small smirk forming on his lips, "But I have a plan to use their own skills against them. It's not a full-proof plan…but it might be effective nonetheless."

"Okay, so what is this plan?" Sokka asked, looking at Aang questionably.

"We're going to see my good friend, Guru Pathik."

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**A/N: Toph says, "YOU ARE A GIRL, SOKKA!" …There ****Zoë **…**you happy now? :)**


	19. Chapter 18: An Ancient Art : Part 1

**AN: Hey, Readers…I just wanna say that I'm sorry for the short length of this chapter…. =/ It was supposed to be longer…but I feel I should put something out for you guys.**

**I know you've been waiting a very very very long time for this chapter and I know what you're thinking, "THIS IS ALL SHE GIVES US? AFTER ALL THIS WAITING?" And yeah…I know you have the right to be mad. But you do have to remember that I am a teenage girl…and that means school…and procrastination…and cheesy teen romance…and whatnot :P It's not like I'm always free..wish I was…but I'm not =/**

**There's a full reason in the bottom author's note…which is much more detailed…or it's just longer…=P **

**But for those of you other people who don't care about waiting and are just happy as it comes, enjoy! And for the people who DO intend to read my long author's note after this, go right ahead =P**

**But yeah. Enjoy! **

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 18:

An Ancient Art : Part 1

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"What would going to see that old guru help anything?" Sokka asked, somewhat confused, "I thought he was only trained in Avatar stuff…"

"True. But if you think about it. Energybending was originally intended just for the Avatar to use. But then the people came and found out how to do it and yeah- but nonetheless!" Aang said, his face growing a smile, "If the Avatar had to learn how to energybend, wouldn't you think Guru Pathik would have to know how?"

Sokka thought about it a minute, going into his classic pose of holding his chin with his fingers as he thought, "I guess that is a reasonable speculation, but what if he doesn't?"

"Even if he doesn't, we can still try. This has turned into a worldly crisis, and my job is to protect the world, so I will do EVERYTHING in my power to stop them," Aang said proudly.

Sokka closed his eyes and nodded, "I see," he turned towards the ocean again, "I guess we could take Appa across to meet up with him,"

Aang grinned, saying, "Thank you, Sokka."

Sokka began to talk with a sarcastic tone, "Since Kang-Dae and his men so graciously made the first move-," Then he spoke seriously, "I guess we'll have to get going quickly."

Aang nodded, a stern expression on his face.

Katara came out a few minutes later, wrapped in a coat and smiling. She walked up to them and gave Sokka a hug, resting her head in the crook of his neck. "Thank you for caring so much," she spoke softly to him, "I heard what you said out here."

Sokka looked at her, still surprised from the sudden hug, but he smiled nonetheless, wrapping his arms around her and accepting the embrace. Aang smiled at the siblings, glad to see that everyone was happy.

Aang suddenly looked confused, "So, where are the others? And how is Toph handling the cold?"

"They're all back in the house we had when we were here last, and Toph is irritated that she had to wear boots, but she's warm, we gave everyone coats," Sokka said as Katara pulled away from him.

Yugoda walked out suddenly, a confused expression on her face, "I've been wondering, Katara…Why didn't you just heal yourself before it got so bad?"

That triggered Katara's memory, "Well, the thing is…none of us really understand why, but at the moment my bending hasn't been working."

"Do you want me to check your chi paths and see if anything is blocked?"

Katara looked at Sokka and Aang before answering, "Yes, please."

They followed Yugoda back into the healing hut where she had Katara sit down on her mat. Yugoda walked up and hovered her hands above Katara's arm, searching for the chi paths. "Oh my…You're chi is so twisted up! I…I don't know if I'll be able to clear it!"

Katara looked from her to Sokka to Aang with fear and told her, "Please try."

"Believe me, I will give it a go, but I have never seen anything like this before," She spoke, pulling some water from a pitcher in the room. She quickly got to work trying to untangle the twisted energy, starting near her wound, were the worst of it was. Katara gritted her teeth as the water furiously tried to repair the twisted up energy.

Minutes passed and Yugoda had made no progress. She gently placed her hand on Katara's shoulder and the young waterbender realized what she meant. It wasn't working.

Katara and her friends sighed.

Aang made a conclusion, "Well, then I guess now it's really important that we go to the Eastern Air Temple. I need help with energybending and if Katara needs to get her chi repaired, a spiritual guru would be probably the next best thing."

Katara turned to Aang as he spoke to Sokka, waiting to be informed. Aang noticed and explained the situation to her.

Katara nodded with a smile. "I had been wanting to meet him anyways, and this seems like a good plan to me."

"But Katara, I don't think you are in a good enough condition to be traveling, I think you should stay a few more days at least." Yugoda spoke, clasping her hands together.

Katara looked at the old healer sadly, saying, "I know that would be the best for my health, but it is of prime importance that we get me and Aang to this guru. A new war could be starting. We won't go into much depth about everything, but it could be bad, and I don't think the tribe will be able to avoid it as long and you avoided the last war."

"I understand, but make sure to take good care of yourself. You don't want to injure yourself again, you're going to be sore for a little while," Yugoda continued.

"I will, and I don't intend on getting myself hurt again," Katara said with a smile, standing up from the mat when Aang held out his hand for her.

Katara gave Yugoda a hug for healing her, also thanking her in a whisper. Yugoda whispered back that she was welcome and pulled away, still giving her the warm smile she almost always wore.

Katara smiled and exited the room with Aang and Sokka, joining them as they walked down to house Aang had temporarily rented for everyone. Usagi ran up to Katara with a smile, giving her a hug that Katara graciously returned.

When they got there, the now-very-blind Toph spoke up as she heard the door open, "So is Sugar Queen alive yet?"

Katara's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the nickname, "Yeah, I'm right here, Toph."

"Cool! Now we can get of this ice sheet, right?" Toph seemed very pleased and excited, and deep down everyone knew that she really had been worried about Katara, but she was too prideful to admit it.

"Yes, Toph, we're going to the Eastern Air Temple," Aang answered her, starting to pack up their things.

"Okay, but why are we going there?" Toph asked, leaning back farther in her chair.

"The guru I met there is a master of spiritual and energy related things. He can help me and Katara with our energy problems," Aang spoke, smiling.

"Energy problems?" Toph asked in a sarcastic voice.

"Yeah. I need to learn how to energy bend and Katara needs to find out why her chi is not working. Without either of those problems solved, we don't have a chance at winning this battle." Aang continued, slinging his pack over his shoulder and telling everyone to be ready in fifteen minutes. They all nod lazily and start packing as Aang and Katara walked outside, already ready to go.

Once there, they slid to the ground, leaning against each other. "How do you feel?" Aang turned and asked Katara, snaking his arm around her.

"Better than I have been lately, but there's still a small pain, like when you've worked a muscle a little too hard, and you're sore there," Katara gently smiled and said.

"Well that's good…I wouldn't want you in pain…I hated having to see you so vulnerable and scared." Aang closed his eyes, looking down at his legs, crossed beneath him.

Katara looked at him sadly, "But I'm fine now, so it shouldn't matter."

"Of course it matters!" Aang suddenly said, making Katara jump slightly, "I lost you, Katara. And it was all my fault! You were in pain. So much pain! And there was nothing I could do for you! All because I couldn't learn to heal!"

"But you did learn, remember? You did do it a few times after I taught you…" Katara whispered to him, placing her hand on his gently.

"Yeah, but not when it really counted. I was just to stupid to not think of happy thoughts." Aang continued to down himself, clenching his fists on his lap.

"But I don't blame you for that, Aang, I would have had a hard time thinking of happy thoughts to heal you too in that situation." Katara spoke, clutching his fist.

"You did though! You were able to heal me when I died, right? I wasn't. I'm weak." Aang was nowhere near stopping, at this rate, he was going to go on and on about everything that he's done wrong in life, but Katara stopped him.

"Aang! Stop it! I've had more practice! That's all! And when you died, there was hardly any blood because you were burned and the burn basically sealed up your wound! I'm scared of blood too, Aang, but I can handle it. You have lived as a vegetarian and a pacifist for most of your life, so pain and blood and death isn't what you're accustomed to. I'm used to it, you're not. I don't blame you. Stop saying it's your fault." Katara spoke firmly, looking deeply into his eyes as he tried to avoid her gaze.

Afterwards, she took his face into her warm hands and gently kissed him, pulling away and smiling softly at him, "Okay?"

Aang looked back up at her, seeing her comforting look at him and calming down, "Okay…I'm sorry…I just love you so much, Katara, and seeing you…like that is painful."

"I know, Aang, I know, but it is over now, I'm fine, just a little bit sore. And it's all thanks to you. I'd be dead if it weren't for you!"

"But you did-"

"Yes, but I mean for good."

There was a silence between them as Aang contemplated her words. He didn't know what to say to he pulled her into a gentle hug, nuzzling his face into her silky chocolate brown hair. Katara smiled as well, kissing his cheek and continuing the hug as their friends came out.

They pulled away, both having a few stray tears in their eyes, wiping them away. The couple stood up, hand in hand, smiling at their friends.

"Have a nice talk?" Toph asked, smirking, obviously hearing the whole thing because they were so loud at points.

Aang and Katara smiled and nodded, saying that they did.

"Okay, then, let's get off this big iceberg and let me see again!" Toph shouted, stomping off in the direction of the stairs, still almost walking off the edge. But Sokka stopped her from going that far.

Everyone laughed and followed her, continuing to help her towards Appa.

Sokka and Zuko quickly ran to tell the captain of the ship they came on to head back to the Fire Nation. Once everything had been settled with them, they headed back to everyone else.

The kids found their way onto their designated dragon-horses, jumping on and galloping over to Appa, while being careful not to slip.

The others, including Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, and Mai, boarded the large bison and petted him. Katara needed some help getting up because she was still so weak and sore. Aang took care of that quickly. Once everyone was comfortable, he ran and jumped onto Appa's head, stroking the thick fur atop it. He grinned and shouted, "Yip Yip!" Sending the bison into the air with a groan, heading towards the Eastern Air Temple.

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Hours and hours passed, seeming like their journey would never end. They slept, ate, and kept idle talk until Appa showed signs of needing to sleep. They flew down into a sparse forest near a village. They were in the northern regions of the Earth Kingdom. The trip to the Eastern Airtemple would still take a few days.

Day after day they had the same schedule: fly, stop in or near a village or town for supplies, sleep, awaken, fly.

That happened until one day before their journey was over. They headed into a town named Nagayo for supplies after dropping off their stuff in the forest. Aang walked ahead of everyone and saw a small, yet growing crowd form around one very worn out looking young man.

Confused, Aang and the others walked towards everyone. Aang asked them, "Is something wrong? I'm the Avatar. Is there any way I can help?"

An old man turned around and saw him, instantly looking relieved. He quickly walked up to Aang an gave him a small, respectful bow. Aang bowed in return with a smile.

"Yes, actually, you can," The old man replied, "My son, Hikaru," he gestured to the worn out man, "is claiming that there was a raid in his village on the western coast. He came all the way back here using one of the Fire Nation war balloons. He is wounded as well. Please, can you help him?"

Katara almost spoke up, saying that she could heal his son, but she stepped back sadly, remembering that she no longer had her bending.

"We'll help in any way we can," Aang said gently, but then he turned to the growing crowd, "But I think we should talk with your son in private. I have a feeling I know what is going on."

"Good idea," The man said with a small smile, "By the way, my name is Takeo."

Aang smiled in response as they walked up to the wounded man, "Nice to meet you, Takeo. My name's Aang."

Katara ran up to the young man and examined his wounds. He had many bruises on his tan arms and a slash mark across his abdomen. Sokka and Zuko ran up and helped the man to his feet, his arms across their shoulders. They led him towards Takeo's house and helped him into a chair.

The young man clutched at his wound tightly, blood had been slowly dripping out of it.

Katara turned to Aang, "You ready to use your healing skills?" She gave him an encouraging smile.

Aang looked at her worriedly, "But you know I can't."

"No. I know you can. Just try. Think of the happiest thought you can come up with. Think of our first real kiss," She kissed his cheek, causing him to blush as he kneeled in front of the man, taking water from a pitcher he saw on a table in the room.

He placed the water on Hikaru's wound and concentrated on his and Katara's first kiss. He smiled and the water started to glow, surprising not only the man, but Aang as well. The monk stared at it with wide eyes, a large grin forming on his face as he got to work repairing the wound.

Minutes passed before he finished, retracting the water from the man's abdomen and seeing his work. The slash mark had almost completely erased itself except for a small thin scar that crept across his stomach.

Hikaru smiled in gratitude, "Thank you, Avatar."

"You are very welcome, now what all is this about a raid?" Aang asked, standing up from his kneeling position and looking at the him.

Hikaru stared at him, "I don't even know. It seemed so unreal. I was with my wife and son, I had just got done in the fields, when suddenly these large ships appeared at our docks. Me and the other men of the village grabbed our weapons to confront them and we sent our families to hide in the houses. Suddenly, the men onboard leapt out and started shooting…light at us! I couldn't even think of what it could be! But the light was painful!"

The gaang understood exactly what the man was talking, but they didn't know how to explain it to him.

He continued, "When it hit us, it felt like a fiery fist had struck you across your entire body! We were quickly outnumbered and the men invaded the village, destroying everything! When the men stopped paying attention to us, I limped away towards my family's house. I could only hope that they couldn't have found it. Our house was built into a small hill and I hoped it was concealed enough for them not to find it. I finally made it back, but there was a boy there. He was probably seventeen years old. And he had found the house and was threatening my family with a sword."

Everyone instantly knew the boy he was talking about. Kang-Dae.

"I pulled my dagger out and tried to attack him. But he spoke to me, asking, 'Are you a bender?' I told him I was and that I wasn't afraid to use my skills against him. Then he smirked and said, 'Good.' And then he took his sword and slashed me with it. My family screamed for me and the boy asked me again, 'Are you a bender now?' And I was confused. I tried to use my bending, but it wouldn't work. I don't know what he did after that, because I suddenly passed out. But when I woke up…my family was gone. Then, I used one of the fire nation air ships that we had brought down during the war to escape…Something is going on. Something bad."

He looked up Aang with worry in his eyes, "What is going on, Avatar Aang? I want my family back."

Aang looked back at the man, with the same worry in his eyes, "Well…I could tell you but you would be confused."

"I don't care. Explain to me what these…monsters are! And what did they do to my bending!" Hikaru asked, the seriousness in his voice raising.

Aang and his friends got to work explained to Takeo and Hikaru what was going on, starting from the lights that formed in the sky with the storms. Living on the coast, Hikaru remembered the lights that radiated from the ocean and put two and two together, realizing that the lights were from them. The explanation took a long time, but Hikaru and his father seemed satisfied in the end.

"And as for your bending…We are as confused as you at the moment. My girlfriend, Katara, was…stabbed by Kang-Dae. But ever since that battle, she hasn't been able to bend," Aang told him, gesturing towards Katara, who shrugged to emphasize that she was confused as well.

"I see…" Hikaru muttered, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and cupping his face in his hands. But then he seemed to have come up with something, "Wait!"

Everyone turned to him as he continued, "Me and her were both hurt by Kang-Dae's sword! It could be the sword draining our chi paths of our energy!"

Everyone took a moment to think about it, and they agreed with him. Katara looked confused though, "That doesn't make sense though, because after I was stabbed by him, I was still able to use blood bending."

This started a whole new confusion in everyone's mind. They contemplated why she was still able to bend for a little while and couldn't come up with anything.

Suki turned and spoke up, "I guess we'll just have to see what this guru person says."

Everyone agreed and before the gaang left, Hikaru stood up and asked, "When you find out what the guru has to say…please return with a cure, and I will fight loyally by your side to defeat them. They will not get away with kidnapping my family."

Aang smiled and nodded, "Don't worry. We will help you find your family."

Hikaru smiled and nodded as well, taking a respective bow to Aang, which the monk returned. The gaang left the house, picking up their supplies and going back to Appa, where they set up camp and slept.

In the morning, they woke up early and took off, now more determined than ever to reach Guru Pathik.

Only hours remained until the mountain range came into view that the Eastern Airtemple was in. They took turns steering Appa, but they mostly only needed to fly straight. The temple was in the dead center of the mountain range.

They arrived in the late afternoon. Aang flew Appa up to the platform he had first met Guru Pathik on. They all jumped off of Appa and looked around for the old guru. Aang started to get worried. What if the fire nation raided this temple too? What if he was killed? Though there wasn't any skulls or scorch marks anywhere, but storms could have gotten rid of them…

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the old guru's voice, "My, my. Isn't this a surprise."

Aang spun around completely, seeing Guru Pathik standing there with a white bird perched on his forearm. He dismissed the bird with a soft whistle and smiled at the gaang. "So why have you all come to visit me?"

Aang smiled and bowed to him, "We have had an encounter with the energybenders, Guru Pathik."

The old guru's eyes widened, "The energybenders? They've been extinct for many thousands of years! I did sense a large power growing far away, but was it them?"

"Yes. And we have actually gone into battle with them. They came from an underwater city! But now they are on the land and invading earth kingdom cities," Aang continued.

"I see. This is strange, they were supposed to be locked up, and they were expected to die off. But I believe you. How can I help?" Pathik asked, walking closer to the group.

"Well, first thing's first. When we first fought with the energybenders, Katara was stabbed by their leader's son. And besides a little while right after, she hasn't been able to bend since. Would you know why? And can you help?" Aang asked, looking over at Katara.

The Guru suddenly looked confused and worried, "Did you say he stabbed her? If the legendary sword has been passed down then I know exactly why she is not able to bend."

"That's great!" Aang exclaimed, a grin sliding it's way across his face.

"It will take about two days to fully bring back her power," Pathik said, walking up to Katara. He examined her closely, making her feel slightly awkward, but then he stood back, grabbing her arm to feel along her chi paths. He closed his eyes and placed his middle and index finger onto different places on her arm. Everyone watched closely.

Katara stared at him strangely, hoping he would actually say something.

A few seconds later he let go of her arm and smiled, "Yes, yes, I know exactly how to return her energy."

There was a moment of silence before Aang asked, "So…how was her energy stolen. You didn't tell us about his sword."

"Oh!" The Guru smiled, but then got serious, "The sword that the prince possesses has been passed on through many many generations, since the beginning of the energybender civilization. The sword was a big part of their power. It was crafted by a dark spirit for a man who devoted his entire life since he was a child to the spirits. Unfortunately, because of the spirits' admiration for him, giving him gifts of great power and wealth, he became power crazy, and was determined to conquer the world. The dark spirit who particularly favored him crafted him the sword so that he could slay his enemies, and gain their energy. The sword was literally an energybender. As soon as it makes contact with someone's skin besides the one handling the sword, their chi is sucked out of them and into the sword handler, it can also cause people to retain their youth"

"That would make sense! Because Kang-Dae seemed to get stronger after he stabbed her, and I didn't know why," Aang said.

"Yes. And if what you say is true. That the energybenders have surfaced. Then he is most likely out there attacking innocent people for their energy," he said, "Why are they after you anyways?"

"They just have a huge grudge against the Avatar, and they think I am the same person who banished them," Aang answered.

"Ah. It would make sense. Before they were sent beneath, the prince swore that he would have revenge."

Aang suddenly looked confused, "But wait, did you say that it could make you retain your youth?"

"Yes," Pathik said, "Why?"

"You don't think that Kang-Dae could be the very same prince from back then, do you?" Aang asked, his eyes widening.

"No, no, that's impossible. The prince was in his early twenties when that happened." The Guru answered.

There was a short moment of silence before the Guru spoke again, "But he did have a son. And that son could be. We have no knowledge of anything that took place after they went under the ocean."

"Where are you getting all of this information anyways, Guru Pathik?" Suki asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm a Guru! I have to know everything about the spiritual world. What do you think I have been doing my whole life, and that's a long time!" He took a moment to let out a short laugh, "There are many books on them."

"Oh," Suki forced a small laugh as well.

"So, shall we get started in restoring your friend's energy?" Pathik turned to Aang and asked.

"Yes, definitely," Aang nodded.

"Come with me then, Katara," The old Guru spoke, starting to walk down the spiraling stairs to a lower part of the temple.

Katara hesitantly followed, not liking the idea of being alone with this old man. Aang seemed to notice her silent fear and asked the Guru if he could come as well. Pathik took a moment to think before telling him he could, but no one else could come.

They walked down to a room filled with crystals and waterfalls and Katara had to agree that the airtemples were some of the most beautiful places in the world.

"We're going to be meditating. For the first 24 hours, you must calm your remaining energy so that when I regenerate the lost energy it will be much simpler," The Guru spoke, smiling and sitting on the ground in a lotus position.

Aang followed suit and removed his shirt, sitting down on the ground and also getting in the lotus position.

Katara remained standing, worried, "Twenty-four hours?"

"Yes, and I understand that you would be shocked, it is a long time for people who do not normally meditate," The Guru answered for her.

Katara slowly sat down, crossing her legs in an attempted lotus position, and the Guru stood, walking over to her. He placed one of his hands on her shoulder and the other on her lower back, straightening out her posture. She began to feel more awkward.

"Now. I don't want to disturb you, so I have decided that Aang will stay here with you, since you are so comfortable with him. And he will also make sure that you do not stop meditating until the twenty-four hours is up. You may start whenever, but just know that the longer you wait, the longer it will take until you leave here to end this," The Guru spoke, crossing his arms behind his back, he walked behind Aang and looked down at him with an irritated expression.

"I heard from an old friend of mine what happened to you, Aang."

Aang had a vague idea what he was talking about.

"If you hadn't left so soon, without unblocking your final chalkra, you would have been able to finish them off. By going into the Avatar State sooner. But you never learned," Pathik said, "Though you were able to defeat the Fire Lord nonetheless. You could have gotten out without a scar though." And then he left.

Aang looked down sadly and Katara looked over at him, worriedly, "I thought you did unlock all your chalkras, and that when Azula shot you your 7th one was blocked or something."

Aang answered timidly, "Well, I never unlocked it in the first place…I couldn't…wouldn't…it was too hard."

"What did you have to do?"

"I…I had to let go of you."

Katara was confused, and she started to say, "What do you-."

"I had to let go of my attachment to you and realize that the world needs to be my top priority, not you. But it was too hard for me, I love you too much." Aang spoke, trailing off at the end.

There was a short silence.

"Well, that's very sweet of you, but I can't believe you'd risk the world like that…by loving me more than your duties to the world….It's kind of selfish." Katara muttered, still flattered nonetheless.

"I know…but remember I never asked for any of this! I wanted to have a normal nomadic life with the woman I love…But I have to spend it helping the world." Aang said.

"That doesn't mean you can't love me. You just have to care for the world a teensy bit more," Katara smiled.

"I know, Katara…I love you very very much."

"I love you, too, Aang," Katara laughed, "So when do I have to start meditating?"

"Any time, he said." Aang said, "Do you want to start now?"

"Sure," Katara said, "I guess I'm ready."

"Good," Aang smiled, getting up to help her, "Now remember when we meditated before any of this happened, when we were in Ba Sing Se and you were trying to relax?" He laughed at the memory. "We're going to do pretty much the same thing, but since this is a spiritual place, you're going to achieve a lot more."

"Oh, alright, I think I can handle this," She smiled.

"It's going to be a lot easier to pass the time this time." He spoke, "The way this works is, since you're trying to regain and strengthen your bending, you will have to face your conflicts once again to see what you could have done to prevent what happened."

He saw that Katara looked confused, so he continued, "Basically what will happen is, since you lost your bending during the battle, your vision will take you back to that moment, and you will have to do whatever it takes to prevent what happened from happening. And if you do that, your body will calm down and your energy will be purer, does that make sense?"

"Umm…yeah, it does somewhat."

"Well, we'll take that!" Aang laughed, sitting in front of her in the lotus position.

"Now, you ready?" Aang smiled.

Katara hesitantly smiled back, "I think so, yes,"

"Okay, you know what to do!"

She smiled and tried to remember what to do. She let out a soft giggle as she remembered, "Ooohmm." She muttered.

Aang grinned with silent laughter, joining her so that she wouldn't feel awkward.

A minute passed of this constant chanting, and Katara started to wonder if she would have to do this for the entire twenty four hours. But, then she started to feel very tired. Her "ohm's" started to trail off and soon she had entered her true meditation.

Aang nodded, a proud smile on his face as he saw what happened. She didn't fall asleep, she just began her vision. Aang was used to the feeling of this deep meditation. He had even meditated for three days straight, which was a huge accomplishment for little monks. He closed his eyes again, joining her in meditation as he prepared to help her in her short journey.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, guys…so…like I said up there. This chapter was originally intended to be longer…but my original intentions of getting the chapter done like…2 weeks ago…FAILED. Yell at me all you want, I understand =/ Pressure is not fun. For anyone. Anyways, I'm just updating now because I feel like I should give you something after the long while you've waited. **

**So, that's why this is a "Part 1" episode, and the part 2 will be out soon. I won't give an exact date due to the fact that I don't think that has ever worked out with me and stories….ANYWAYS. **

**If you were one of those people who asked what my last chapter's last author's note was about…well…I kinda forgot…but…wait. No. I think I remember. But not in detail. I was basically just reading my chapter out loud at one point to my step-sister, Zoe, to see if she liked it or not, and I had made a typo that called Sokka a "she" instead of "he" So she made me put it as my author's note and/ or I may have brought that idea up. So it may be my fault…but oh well.**

**Also, if you had trouble understanding what the paragraph above says…well…just remember I fail at speech. .**

**ALSO! Be sure to check out my deviantart account! I'm going to be posting scenes of this story and I take requests for that! :D Just pwease check it out? :D**

**I'm going to have the next chapter soon. But at this rate, there will be about 5 more chapters until the END of the ENTIRE STORY! For some of you. This is a relief. You'll be all like, "Yes! Finally! She's finishing this stupid story that I follow for no apparent reason!" OR you'll be like, "Yay! The story was great but I have been waiting almost two years for it to end…." OR you'll be like, "Aww! I wanted it to continue FOREVER!" (XD YEAH RIGHT!) :P Oh well. However it ends up appearing in your mind, the story's ending nonetheless :P I will write more though…but I promise that before I post anything, I'll write the whole story out first so that there's no long waits like this failure of a story :P **

**Thank you for your time! Your 2 years of waiting! And your reviews! All are greatly appreciated! **

**And definitely for those who have been following through, still reviewing and reading, since the beginning of this 2 year long wait, such as: **

**Asoe**

**KimJuni2**

**Milktart lover**

**DanceWaterDance9**

**AND MANY OTHERS WHO I LOVE JUST AS MUCH!**

**And then one last thing. To all of those who have joined on later in the 2 year wait (There are many of you too, so I won't point out individuals), you guys also rock. Some of you have become great friends of mine(YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! LOVE YOU! =D ), and some of you have given constructive criticism, some of you have yelled at me….., and some of you have just been very nice, reviewing and telling me that I was a great author. **

**Thank you all, SO MUCH! LOVE YOU! And once again. For about the TRILLIONTH TIME. I. AM. SORRY. ='(**

**=)**


	20. Chapter 19: An Ancient Art : Part 2

**Author's Note : So…please tell me what I was thinking when I said that I could get 5 chapters done in like 18 days, along with projects, finals, and finals projects….I'm going to be writing this entire 3 day weekend….so it wont be that long of a wait… :/**

**Thank you for reading this story for 2 straight years…. :)**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 19:

An Ancient Art : Part 2

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There was darkness everywhere.

_Where am I? _Katara thought, _Ugh. And why does my head hurt so bad. _

She stood up and tried to get her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but it did not work. She decided to walk forward, hoping that she would eventually find some light. She walked for about ten minutes before a small light came into view.

She smiled and started running towards it, needing to see something. When she arrived, the light was almost blinding. She rubbed her eyes for a minute and saw that she was in a large jungleish swamp place. She had no idea where she was.

She walked around a bit, seeing numerous different types of animals with strange characteristics.

Suddenly she saw Aang talking with a strangely familiar old man.

"And I really hope she found her way here…" She heard Aang finish. When she came into view, Aang turned to her with his trademark grin, rushing over to her and hugging her.

She hugged back, but then she pulled away, staring at his clothes.

"I haven't seen you in those clothes for awhile…not since before…" Katara muttered, staring at him sadly.

"It's just because this is my spiritual form, Katara," Aang said, his face showing concern for her, "And what you're wearing is yours."

She hadn't really paid attention to herself until now. Her hair was down in it's former braid and she was wearing her old dress. "Oh, I hadn't even noticed…"

Aang grins, "Well, you look great, I still like your hair down though."

Katara laughs, "I can put it down then," She brings her hands to her braid and fumbles it in her fingers, undoing it. She shakes her head to fix it and smiles herself, "Better?"

"Completely." Aang grins.

"So…what are we doing here? I thought I just had to meditate for twenty-four hours…." Katara asked, looking around at this strange place.

Aang laughed, "You didn't think we were just going to have you sit there for 24 hours doing nothing but breathing did you? Nooo, this is going to be much easier and much quicker." He smiled and continued, "We're here to revisit the events that occurred to cause this to happen."

"So we have to go to the battle?"

"Precisely." Aang said, "And then as we watch we'll have to think about how we could have prevented it, and that knowing will cause you to calm your mind and release your anger and stress."

"Oh, it's that easy?" Katara asked, growing happier.

"Ehh, it's okay. It at least won't feel like 24 hours have passed. Time flies by quicker in the Spirit World." Aang said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Roku smiled and introduces himself, "My name is Avatar Roku, Katara, I've heard much about you." He took a small bow.

Katara smiled and bowed respectfully, saying, "It's an honor to meet you, Avatar Roku."

"I used this same technique when trying to get over my peoples' death…it helps a lot, but it's still hard…at least in that case," Aang said, looking away, remembering.

Katara placed her hand on Aang's shoulder. He shrugged it off, but not in a mean way.

Roku spoke up, "This time will be a lot easier for both of you. Aang, when you last used this technique, you used a lot more concentration than you needed to. I'm going to show you two what you can do for it to be easier." He smiled and led them away into the swampy jungle.

Aang and Katara smiled and followed the old Avatar, Katara, admiring the Spirit World.

After a few minutes had passed, Avatar Roku had leaded the two to a small moving light and Aang's eyes widened in recognition. "I've seen that light light before! But nothing happened when I touched it, so what do we do now?"

Roku followed the light with his eyes and said, "You didn't hold onto it last time, you let go of it before anything could happen. The point of it is to hold on long enough and concentrate hard enough for the memories to appear in your mind in full detail."

"Oh…" Aang said, now joining Roku in following the light with his eyes; it was mesmerizing. "So, when do we start?"

Roku chuckled, "Well, you have to catch it first."

Aang's eyes widened, it was hard to catch. Then, determination kicked in when he saw Katara and his eyes narrowed, focusing harder on the small yellow-tinted glow. He jumped to action, flying from tree to tree, even without bending, and diving for the small ball of light.

Katara joined him, trying to help him get the ball, but due to her lack of light, jumpy, airbender nature, he found herself only able to help when the ball was near the ground. Roku was enjoying the young avatar's determination, and laughed encouragingly as the boy continued.

Aang was just about fed up with the light about fifteen minutes later. _This is ridiculous! _He thought. _It wasn't this hard last time!_

He decided that it had a mind of it's own, so he hid inside a small cave made by a tree and where it overlapped a rock with it's roots. He hid there, slowly crawling out of the small hold he had found. The light was hovering overhead, taunting him. Aang scowled at it.

He lunged himself up and onto the light, grabbing onto it and, like before, finding it to be cold with a tingly feeling. He remembered what Roku had said, that he had to keep holding onto the light for it to work, but Katara had to come as well.

He called for her, and moments later, she was climbing onto the tree root he was standing on. She took both of her hands and wrapped them around the light and slightly jumping at the tingling sensation.

As soon as her hands touched it though, the roots beneath them disintegrated, as well as the rock that the roots had overlapped. Aang and Katara yelped as they fell into the water below, a couple monkey-like animals letting out cries as their home was destroyed and running off.

They sat themselves up, still holding the light. Katara was disgusted by the swampy, murky water they were sitting it. Roku walked up to them with a smile.

"Now, keep hold of it, and don't let go. Concentrate on the exact moment this all went wrong. You only have to remember one moment before it happened in perfect detail: how were you feeling at the time, what did you look like, what did your enemies look like, was the air hard to breathe?" He explained.

"That much?" Katara asked, "You really mean it when you say full detail. I'll try."

Aang smiled at her and they both closed their eyes, concentrating on the exact moment everything went wrong. Katara's head began to throb, and she gritted her teeth, trying to focus. Suddenly a large wave of cold energy washed over her, engulfing her and Aang completely from the inside-out.

Suddenly, they were sprawled out on the floor of the arena. Katara gasped and sat up, looking around, having a serious case of déjà vu.

Aang was about forty feet away from her, sprawled out in the same position, adjusting to the memory as well. They both stood up and met, trying to figure out where in the memory they actually were, because the arena was empty.

They didn't need anyone to answer them because they suddenly saw themselves walking in with Kang-Dae and his father. They had even more of a sense of déjà vu when they saw this. They watched closely, and Aang told Katara, "Just remember. Be on the lookout for the moment you have to fix."

Katara nodded and turned back to the fight, but a few seconds later, she quickly spun back around to face Aang, asking, "Ummm….what do I do?"

"Oh, haha," Aang laughed, "Sorry I forgot to explain it to you."

"It's okay," Katara smiled.

"Well, it's actually relatively easy. Right now we are in spirit form, so whatever we come into contact with from the real world, we just phase right through. That includes our other bodies." Aang said, with a smile.

"Okay….still confused," Katara muttered.

"Well, when the time comes, you just need to phase inside of your physical body and your mind right now will take over. Then, you just need to control your body and find a way to stop the bad thing from happening." Aang continued for her.

Katara smiled, "Oh…well that actually doesn't sound too bad." She grinned and watched the rest of the battle take place.

"Well, I think I'm ready to go," Katara said, watching the battle intently, "I'm almost to where I…"

Aang nodded in agreement, knowing what she was talking about. "Well, you'd better get going."

"Yeah. Right." Katara agreed, running forward and staring at her physical self, "So this is what I look like in battle." She muttered, walking forward and phasing herself in, the weird tingling feeling coming back.

She couldn't see anything, and her head hurt, like two separate minds were competing in trying to control her body. She found herself doing what she had done before, forming the wave of ice to ride, because she realized that whenever you don't move, the memory takes over.

Aang was getting worried, confused as to why she wasn't doing anything.

Her head hurt to much for her to concentrate and soon she found herself sliding off of the ice wave and once again, finding herself in the same predicament as before. She let out a small yelp as she saw her fate before her.

The sword pierces her side and she pitifully screams as she his the ground.

Simultaneously, the two Aangs, physical and spiritual, jump into action, running and shouting, "Katara!"

Katara felt all the pain that was there before, and the intense piercing, burning sensation brought heavy streams of tears down her eyes. She couldn't bear it. The first time or this time.

Spirit Aang reached Katara first and the he reaches down, wrapping his arms around his girlfriends writing body and pulling her spirit form out. He carried her over about twenty feet before sitting down on the ground, still in his arms. She was panting and gasping in pain, but then she realized that when Aang had pulled her out, the pain depleted, completely leaving her.

It took her a minute to calm down, but she was still breathing heavily, extremely confused and scared.

Aang sets her down so she can compose herself and he explains, "When you phase into your physical self, you are basically reenacting that memory, so you'll pretty much be time-traveling back to then, so you'll feel all the pain that happened in that scene."

Katara sighed stressfully, "That's not fun…"

"It wasn't meant to be…" Aang shrugged, looking at her sadly.

"Well…then I ruined my chance didn't I, I can't change it now…" Katara muttered.

"No, you have as many chances an you need, you just need to concentrate on it with me," Aang smiled, taking her hand and pulling her up.

"That's convenient," Katara smiled, but then she frowned, "I hate concentrating so hard though."

"Yeah, it's pretty annoying, but you get used to it," Aang laughed, closing his eyes tightly and concentrating, getting Katara to do the same.

They go back to the same moment as before and Katara jumps in, but she is too confused by the weird feeling and she ends up slipping off the ice wave with a yelp.

They try once more, and Katara just plain tries to dodge the attack, but unfortunately, she failed.

A few moments later they were back to where they started, and they began waiting for the time when she was supposed to jump in. But then, she decided to try something else, "Aang, I think I kind of want to…watch everything that happened."

Aang looked at her worriedly, "Why would you want to experience that again?"

Katara looked down, "I just really want to see what had happened during this time…Since I was so out of everything…I hardly remember what happened."

Aang sighed, "Okay…"

Katara looked at how sad he suddenly got and she asked, "Is it more you who doesn't want to see this again?"

Aang signed again, looking down at his feet, "…Maybe…"

Katara walked the short distance to him and took him into her arms, embracing him, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Aang looked up at her, "No, don't be. I'm sorry you had to experience that…"

"It's fine, Aang, without you I wouldn't even be here, so don't be sorry, you did everything right." Katara smiled and hugged him again.

Aang ended up agreeing with her, because she was right, he had made sure she made it.

They watched and waited as the scene dragged on, and when the time came for her to get stabbed, Katara tentatively walked forward, wanting to get a closer look for a reason she couldn't explain. Her heart was beating fast as she saw her physical form create the ice wave and she looked away briefly towards Aang, seeing him sitting on the ground, arms crossed over his knees, locking himself away from the world.

Katara looked over at him sadly before continuing to watch as her fate approached.

And then it happened. She slid off of the wave and was pierced by the sharp blade. She winced and watched as a purple and blue spark of energy emanated from her body and into the sword.

She thought in her head, '_That must be how he stole my waterbending! He used the sword, just like the guru said!' _

She watched as her physical form was kicked off of the sword, staring at her painfully, not liking the sight of so much blood and violence. She wanted to watch though…

As her physical form stumbled backwards, grasping her side in pure agony, Katara wanted desperately to help, reaching out for her, but she knew that if she even touched her physical self in this form, she would be sucked in. And at the moment she wasn't really wanting to jump in to do anything, knowing the pain she would be in.

She watched as physical Aang ran and attacked Kang-Dae, proving to be one of the most aggressive, non-avatar-state moments she has ever seen him in. He ran over to Katara a pleaded for her to answer him, but physical Katara could hardly speak amidst her cries.

Katara had to clench her eyes shut, not being able to take it. She ran up to Aang, who was still curled up, avoiding the world, and she kneeled in front of him.

"Can we skip to the moment I-…" She cut herself off, knowing that Aang would understand what she was talking about.

He sighed and nodded, grabbing her hands and concentrating with her. A moment later they were fast forwarded to later in the battle. Katara stood up and stepped back, looking around for her physical self.

It wasn't hard to find, seeing as though it was the only place containing a crying girl. Katara winced in embarrassment, '_I sounded terrible…'_

She walked closer and saw that her physical self wasn't talking, but the two of them were crying. She saw Aang lean down and kiss her forehead, lingering there until Katara spoke.

"Aang…I…I feel w-warm," her physical self said.

Spiritual Katara watched herself and Aang worriedly.

She watched as her physical self talked about a long path of flowers, and wanting to go down it, then she muttered, "It's s-so warm…so…warm"

"It's coming up…" Katara muttered in response, watching the scene sadly.

"No…Please, Katara," she heard physical Aang choke out as spiritual Aang walked up behind her. Aang wrapped his arms around her and watched the scene sadly.

"It's s-so warm…So…warm…" Katara heard her physical form whisper over and over.

"Please," Physical Aang cried, grabbing hold of his wounded girlfriend's hand.

"So th-this is what death is like…it's nice…" Katara smiled sadly, knowing her time was up.

Aang continued to plead with her to hold on, but she insisted that she was ready to go, and that she couldn't hold on anymore. Katara tightly closed her eyes and tears formed in spiritual Katara and Aang's eyes.

With Katara's final words, spiritual Aang and Katara closed their eyes and turned away.

"I….love you…Aang…"

Katara turned towards her physical self and Aang again and watched intently, wanting to know what happened after she died.

Physical Aang's eyes opened wide and tears spilled out of his eyes like a broken dam. He cried for her to be kidding, to be acting dead and not really being gone. When Kang-Dae spoke to him to get back to the fight now that it was over, Aang shook with anger, cradling Katara's limp body for a moment longer before setting her down softly.

He muttered something, his body hunched over his girlfriend's dead body, "You killed her…."

Kang-Dae looked at him questionably, because he couldn't hear him. He leaned forward and saw Aang shake uncontrollably. Spirit Aang whispered to Katara that she would want to step back, grabbing her hand and leading her backwards. Katara watched intently.

The winds picked up around him and Katara saw physical Aang enter and exit the Avatar state, she spoke to spirit Aang, "Were you really this upset?" She sounded choked up.

"Katara…I can't live without you…" Aang muttered into her ear.

She turned back to the action sadly, upset that she had caused Aang so much pain with her death.

"YOU KILLED HER!" She almost jumped at the ferocity of physical Aang's voice. He stood up slowly, a blinding white light emanating from his eyes. Wind shot from every direction and, had Aang and Katara not have been spirits at the moment, they would have been blown away.

Kang-Dae rushed up to attack him but Aang was faster, grabbing hold of his fist tightly, causing the prince to shout out in pain. Aang stared him down, the light of his eyes burning Kang-Dae's.

They were in the air now.

Aang spoke in a menacing voice, his face close to Kang-Dae's, "You killed her..,and now I will kill you…"

Katara's eyes widened and she watched in terror at Aang's fury. She knew Aang loved her, but she never could have imagined how much her death would affect him.

Aang spun the prince around, flinging him around a bit before thrusting him to the ground and staring him down, a creepy pleased smirk on his face. Aang's true self started to come back and he calmed down but was still in the avatar state. He floated down to the ground and gently picked up physical Katara's body, carrying her towards the gate to their friends. He stumbled slightly, showing that he was going to exit the avatar state soon.

He set Katara down gently and headed for the gates, shoving them open with a single thrust. He picked Katara up again and walked towards his friends, finally exiting the avatar state and falling to his knees, still cradling his limp girlfriend.

Spirit Katara ran over and watched as her friends mourned her. She never knew they cared so much until now. She began to cry as well, especially after seeing Sokka's reaction.

She turned around and faced spirit Aang and muttered, "Let's just get this over with."

He came over and the two of them concentrated hard on the moment right before she was stabbed.

They appeared at the scene and Katara ran, jumping into her physical body and adjusting to the weird feeling it brought her. She prevented herself from creating the ice wave and just ran forward, preparing to attack Kang-Dae with the water she would have used. Unfortunately, it didn't result the way she wanted it to, Kang-Dae jumped in front of her and slashed his sword across her stomach, making her fall backwards to the ground.

She gritted her teeth and screamed for Aang to come to her.

Both Aang's came to her side quickly and spirit lifted her spirit self out and she cried, "It's like he's ready for my every move!"

Katara sits on the ground and thinks, trying to get past the sudden extreme hunger she was feelling. Then it comes to her, her plan.

She stands up and her and Aang concentrate again, going back to the same moment, but this time, when Katara jumped in, she made the ice wave, but kept some water with her in front of her. When the moment came, she froze the ice and the sword pierced it, Katara ducking and sliding beneath the ice and crashing into Kang-Dae. The impact made him let go of the sword and he shouted out in anger, falling to the ground, Katara on top of him.

She quickly stood, smirking, "Didn't expect THAT! Did you!"

Katara used the extra water from the wave and froze the prince from the neck down.

Kang-Dae struggles to get his hands to move so that he could melt the ice away as both Aang's run up, spirit Aang pulling Katara out and physical Aang running up to steal the prince's energy.

Spirit Aang smiled and place his hand on Katara's shoulder, causing her to look at him with a smile as well, "You did good. Do you feel calmer about what happened? Knowing that it could have been prevented?"

"Actually, yeah, I do," Katara laughed, glad the experience was over.

"Good."

Katara laughs again, "Hey, is there anywhere we could get some food? I am so starving!"

"Well, that would make sense, it has been 24 hours," Aang laughs.

"Really? That went so fast…" Katara exclaimed.

"I told you time flies fast in the Spirit World, Katara, now lets go back." He grinned and took her hand, lifting his other to create a cave of darkness to walk back to the real world with.

Katara looks at him, amazed, "It must be nice having spiritual powers."

Aang laughs, "Yeah."

They walk into the darkness, but had they stayed longer, they would have seen Aang fall to the ground, nearly unconscious, his energy stolen from him.

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They walk down the dark, dry-aired tunnel until suddenly they both black out, falling to the ground.

Katara's eyes feel heavy as they open slightly, adjusting to her surroundings.

She saw Aang standing in front of her, holding his hand out to her for her to grab. She smiled and lifted her hand to grab it and felt weak as she clutched to it.

Aang pulls her up and she wobbles slightly.

Aang explains, "Don't worry, Katara, the first time that you truly meditate is hard on your body, mostly your mind. Get some rest and you'll be perfectly fine." He smiled at her.

She smiles in return as Aang gets her some water to drink and puts her down to sleep.

Aang smiles at her and finds Guru Pathik sitting down on top of the tallest tower at the temple. The guru asks where Katara is and when Aang explains that she was sleeping, he began to freak, "No! No! Wake her up! Immediately! It can't work if she falls asleep so fast!"

Aang's eyes widen and he sprints back to her, lucky to find that she hadn't fully fallen asleep yet, only dozed off. He gets her up, amidst her complains and carries her on his back up to the tower where Pathik is.

She rubs her eyes and waits for Guru Pathik to talk.

"Katara, do you know about Chalkra's?" Pathik asked her, leaning forward.

Katara yawns and nods, saying, "Yes."

"Okay, but do you know how they work?" Pathik asks her again.

She looks at him hesitantly and he sighs, saying, "I see," and then he explains, "Chi paths are fueled with your energy. And that energy regenerates over long periods of the day. The energy you are most used to is just the energy you have each day to move around and do things. Some of the stronger energy, though, has been stolen from you, and it takes a very long time to regenerate."

He continues, "The reason you can't bend though is because that energy that was stolen from you was the energy that regenerates your daily energy that you use to bend."

Katara sits up more, somewhat understanding what he was saying.

He continued once more, "The thing is, Katara, that your true power is still inside of you. And, if you learn to unlock it, your waterbending will return and increase 10 fold in power."

Katara smiles and nods happily, "What do I have to do though?"

"Absolutely nothing!" The Guru exclaims a moment before saying, "Except figure out what is keeping you from unlocking it."

Katara looks at him in shock, dumbfounded.

"You have one hour to think of it, I'll be back then," He walks to the edge of the tower and grabs onto some vines, climbing down them.

Katara sighs and puts her head in her hands, grunting in frustration, "I haven't slept or ate anything in over twenty-four hours, and now he's trying to get me to think."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Could the reason just be that you've never thought about unlocking your energy?" Aang suggests.

"Maybe…" Katara sighs again, "I really don't know."

There's a silence, "You're already so amazing at waterbending…I guess you could have just thought you were as good as you could get." Aang mutters.

Katara doesn't think so, but that does spark something in her mind, "Well, wait, I just thought of something. Maybe it's because I always have strived to be a great waterbender, but …I never wanted to surpass you, so I may have held back a bit…"

Aang looks at her, dumbfounded, "So, you didn't want to her my feelings by surpassing me? I would never be hurt by that, you're my teacher! I never expected to be better than you."

Katara looks away, "Well… I don't think I could surpass you anyways, Aang…"

Aang laughs, "Are you kidding? You're amazing at waterbending!"

Katara shrugs as the guru returns, sitting down in front of her and asking if she had figured it out. She nods and the guru says that she will see something similar to what Aang saw when trying to unlock free will in the avatar state.

Katara nods as the Guru tells her to close her eyes. She does.

He places his hands on her temples, telling her to concentrate on what keeps her from unlocking her power.

Katara pictures numerous moments with Aang from her past, and she smiles when she sees him doing crazy moves and powerful bending.

She hears the Guru's voice, "Now you must find a way to allow yourself to unlock your power. What could you have done?"

Katara figures that if she had trained harder and stopped focusing on letting Aang be better, she would have been able to become a better waterbender. When she thinks of this, the visions she had of Aang blurred to nothingness. She falls through the abyss until she begins to slow, softly landing on a sparkling blue path. At the end there was a disk shaped platform.

She sees her body sitting on it, mediating.

She figured that she would have to go up to her and do something, but she wasn't sure what. She carefully made her way up to her and thinks of what she should do. She lifts her hands and carefully tries to touch her meditating head. It phases through right before the guru talks to her again.

"Katara, since your spirit self has unlocked your power, you must give that power to your physical self. Right now, YOU are the unlocked power."

Katara understood now, it was what she had done earlier, just fade in.

She smiled and phased herself into her physical body and with a quick jolt, she was sent back to the physical world. She fell back, exclaiming, "WOAH!"

She sat up and after a moment, she grinned.

She stood up and ran to the edge of the tower, bending water out of the air and sending ice spikes out into the sky.

The Guru stood and smiled, "Very good for your first true meditation, Katara. Though lets hope those spikes don't hit anyone…" Katara laughed hesitantly, "You will need to recover, and to do that, you must eat nothing and drink this!"

Katara stared at the bowl of mirky liquid in disgust, taking it into her hands and smelling it, "What is it?"

The Guru laughed and said, "Drink it and find out!"

Katara looked at it in disgust as she took a hesitant sip. She almost gags on it and cover her mouth to keep it in. Aang looks at her knowingly and laughs.

The day drags on, Katara miserably sipping on the bitter, mushy concoction she had tried.

Aang goes off to train with the Guru, going to a shorter, yet still very high up tower.

The Guru has prepared to teach him the ways of energybending and stands up, bowing to Aang respectfully, Aang gives a bow as well.

"Aang. Energybending is a hard technique, and to do it will require lots of concentration on your part. Are you ready?" The Guru says.

"Yes. I am. I need to defeat them." Aang nods.

"Okay. Well. Here is what you'll need to do." He says, his face growing in seriousness, "First. Calm your mind. You cannot be unstable as you do this technique. Next, do not concentrate or your chi paths within you like you are used to, but your actual "sea of chi". Go to the place where that chi comes from and focus on that. Also, if you focus on the true source of your power, you will be able to take that power outside of yourself and use it like you would an element."

Aang nods, "Are there any specific moves to it?"

Pathik shakes his head, "No. There are no moves specific to it, you can just move your body in the most comfortable way for you to let the energy out."

Aang smiles, "So I can use any kind of martial art form?"

"Yes, that would be correct," Guru Pathik smiles.

"Okay, I'll try it," Aang grins, standing in a firm stance and tightly closing his eyes in concentration. He feels something growing inside of him and he switches to an airbender stance, ready to attack. He moves the feeling with his mind to is right hand and preformed an airbending move, resulting in a blue blast shooting through the sky and making a noticeable hole in the clouds.

The airbender smiled at it, but didn't think it was powerful enough. He turned to Guru Pathik and asked for a demonstration.

Pathik shook his head, "No. I couldn't show you a demonstration even if I tried. Only the Avatar is capable of energybending naturally."

"What?" Aang asked, very confused, "Then how does Kang-Dae do it?"

Guru Pathik frowned, saying, "Remember what I told you about his sword? How it is like an energybender? Well, whenever someone comes into contact with the sword, they obtain energybending abilities, and it is addictive, the power that you have."

"So…it's the sword's fault that Kang-Dae is so evil?"

"Could be. Though it is true that the sword's dark power is absorbed by the wielder," Pathik answered.

"Also, speaking of uncontrollable energy and stuff," Aang mentioned, "When I was fighting Kang-Dae, I had gone into the avatar state out of anger. But, I had no control over anything. The past avatars were doing everything for me…using my fury to their advantage."

Aang continued, "I never wanted to hurt or kill Kang-Dae, but my fury towards him during the battle after he killed Katara was so great, that I couldn't control myself. I wanted to find an alternative way to defeat him, but I couldn't think of anything."

The guru sighed, saying, "If you must do anything, destroy the sword. Do not try to steal his bending abilities, he is too powerful," and then he turned to the now setting sun, "You must leave in the morning if you want to stop them in time without endangering any villagers. They are moving fast."

Aang nodded and bowed to him again in thanks, going back to his room after telling everyone goodnight. He talked to Katara for a little while before his stress overtook him, causing him to be more tired.

He finally fell asleep, nightmares about the final battle plaguing him all night.

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	21. Chapter 20: The Final Battle

**A/N- Before you all start murdering me with all of the bloody murder weapons you have created in my absence, just read the chapter, and think of how you will forgive me…heh…heh….yeah O.O I AM SO…FREAKING….SORRY**

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Book 4

Air

Chapter 20:

The Final Battle

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Aang wakes up, rubbing his eyes exhaustedly due to his lack of good sleep. He rolls his feet of the side of his bed and walks up to the single wide window in his room. He crosses his arms on the ledge of it and rests his head on them.

With a yawn, he closes his eyes as Momo perches upon his shoulder. Aang turned to him tiredly, "Today's the day, Momo." He turns back to the window, looking down a seeing his friends sitting around and making breakfast, he frowns, "And hopefully it will be the last of this."

He throws on his robes and tries to rub away his tiredness, but only managing to make his eyes more red and heavy. He walks down to greet his friends and Katara is the first to notice him. She turns to him and looks at him worriedly, standing up while placing the rice-scooper back into the pot.

She walks up to him and clasps his face in her hands, examining him with worry, "Aang, you look terrible, is everything alright?"

Aang sighs, "No, not really. I was kept up all night by nightmares."

"Do you want to talk about them?"

In reply, Aang shakes his head sullenly.

Katara sighs and gives him a quick hug, telling him to sit down, "Have some breakfast,"

The airbender sits down slowly and Momo flies onto his shoulder again, purring and nuzzling the back of his head. Aang smiles slightly and strokes the lemur's head as Katara hands him a bowl of jook. He smells the porridge-like mixture and smiles slightly, always enjoying Katara's cooking.

He slurps it down, still worried about the series of nightmares that he had suffered through that night. After bowls were cleaned and everyone dressed in their flexible bending outfits, the gaang got their stuff packed up to leave.

Katara stood in her room, staring at the blood-stained robes she had worn to the last battle. "Not again…" She whispered, staring angrily at the clothes, violently tightening her belt around her waist, wincing slightly as it pressed hard against the tender flesh where her wound had been.

She folded the ruined robe and placed it into her bag. Maybe they could get the stain out someday…

She tossed the bag over her shoulder and closed her eyes, mentally preparing for what was to come. As she walked out of the room, and closed the door behind her, she did not see the young airbender standing right outside. They collided and Katara jumped back, slamming against the rough wood of the door behind her. She grabbed her forehead in slight pain where their heads knocked into each other and Aang was quick to apologize, even though he was in the same amount of pain as she was.

"I'm so sorry, Katara!" He squeaked out, as he was also shocked from the impact.

Katara softly chuckled, "Don't worry, I've dealt through worse," The pain started to fade and she put down her hand, looking at Aang and realizing that that wasn't really the best thing he wanted to be reminded of.

Aang was looking away sadly and Katara immediately felt guilty, "I'm sorry, Aang."

Aang shook it off and looked up at her, a soft smile on his lips.

"Why were you out here anyways? Did you have to tell me something?" Katara asked, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

Aang's eyes widened and he blushed, "Oh, well, um…I uh…I got you some flowers from the meditation garden…" He held the multicolored blossoms out to her, the blush not leaving his face, "I just…thought you might like them…" He smiled softly, still blushing.

Katara laughed softly and smiled, taking the flowers from him and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Aang was shocked, but he smiled anyways, he loved getting hugs from her.

"Thank you, Aang, I love them," She muttered into his neck and closed her eyes.

Aang sighed contentedly, smiling and wrapping his arms around her and softly squeezing her. They pulled away moments later and Aang grabbed her hand, leading her outside.

"How is your waterbending doing? Did you try it out at all after I left last night?" Aang asked, smiling at her.

Katara smiled hesitantly, "No, I was exhausted, wanna go and practice before we leave?"

Aang beamed, "I'd love to! Waterbending always clears my mind, especially when I'm with you," he blushed at the end, and Katara laughed, kissing him on the cheek. She grabbed his hand and Aang led her to a pool fed by underground springs.

Once there, the two happily bent globs of water into the air and practiced one of their everyday waterbending exercises, spinning the water balls around them both, taking turns taking control of each of them. After a few minutes of this, Katara stopped the cycle and the water globs splashed into the pool. Aang looked at her questionably.

"Let's try harder moves, to see if I got any stronger while unlocking my 'true power'," She laughed as she said 'true power'.

She hovered her hands above the water and concentrated, loving the power tingling in her fingertips that she had missed so much as she was recovering. She smiled and lifted her hands farther up, taking the water with her as she proceeded to create a large wave in the pool. Aang saw the wave grow and he splashed through the water to get behind Katara, so that he would not get caught in the wave.

When the wave got high enough, she sent it forward, watching as it crashed against the earthen wall of the room. The water proceeded to flood around the entire room, knocking the two back as it splashed against them.

They slammed against the wall behind them and groaned in slight pain, watching the waters die and settle to their normal flow through the room.

Aang was the first to speak, starting out with a small chuckle, "Maybe that strong of a wave was meant for outside."

Katara laughed as well, "Yeah, I guess so…But I'm just so happy that my bending is back. I'm nothing without it."

Aang opened his mouth to speak but stopped, closing his mouth and smiling, a blush forming on his pale cheeks.

Katara grinned and looked at him questionably, "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing." Aang muttered, embarrassed of himself.

Katara gave him 'the look', staring him down until he gave in. He hated her ability to do that to him, but he loved her so much. "Okay, fine, I was just going to say something cheesy, but I stopped myself."

Katara laughed, "Aww, Aang, you can say it, I won't laugh."

Aang looked at her sadly, "You laughed while saying that…"

"Yeah, because you can be so cute! I love it about you, please tell me," She smiled warmly.

Aang sighed, "I was…Well…You said that without your waterbending you'd be nothing…So I almost said I wouldn't be anything without you…."

Katara blushed and smiled, walking through the water to be close enough to hug him, "I wouldn't be anything without you either."

After the embrace, Aang smiled and leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, "We should be getting back to the others, we have to get going."

"Right," Katara smiled, wrapping her arms around him again to quickly hug him before heading towards the doorway.

Aang looked lovingly at her as she left, his face softening, he couldn't imagine what would happen if she got hurt again. He didn't want her fighting at all, but she insisted on it. He strode towards the door and followed her into the hallway, bending the water off of his body like she had done moments before.

After dressing into their comfortable bending clothes the two made their way over to their friends, who were continuing to pack up their stuff.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Sokka asked, somewhat irritated, "Or do you just want to wait until the energybenders find us?"

"Sorry, we just wanted to practice waterbending," Katara said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Be that as it may, we have to get going, more and more people are going to get hurt or die if we wait any longer," he said, tossing the last bag onto Appa's saddle.

Aang sighed, "Okay, okay, everyone get on, I just have to do one more thing."

Sokka grunted, "Fine, but hurry."

"Don't worry, I will," Aang smiled softly, grabbing onto Katara's hand before she had time to get on Appa's back. She looked at him with questioning eyes until Aang gave her a quick reassuring smile. He led her over to a small garden around the corner, having her sit down on the soft grass. He sat down in front of her.

"Last night…I was kept up a while with nightmares…as you know," Aang spoke, and Katara nodded, looking at him intently.

He continued, "I didn't want to talk about them back there…and I'm still not sure if I really want to now, but….they were mostly about you…"

Katara stared to the side sadly, not wanting to meet his eyes. Aang placed his hand on hers, "But some were also about me…if something like that happened to me."

Katara's head turned to face him and she worriedly stared into his eyes, this time it was Aang who was looking away. He continued, "So I wanted to give you something, it's nothing much," he pulled out a small heart-shaped stone attached to a necklace, "I just wanted you to have something from me, in case…things turn out badly."

Katara's outstretched palm caught the small trinket and she stared sadly at it, "But…you're stronger than that…Nothing bad will happen."

Aang half-smiled, not out of happiness, but because the couple had had a similar conversation right before the last battle, "As much as I want to believe you….You said that the last time we went into battle…and look at how things turned out there."

Katara didn't know want to say, he was right, she had said the exact same thing. She spoke, "But I was being stupid, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, I shou-,"

"Katara, please, it's not your fault that happened!" He grabbed her shoulders and looked her sadly in the eyes, "I should have been more observant and seen him standing there."

Katara just shook her head, a few tears forming in her eyes.

Aang immediately loosened his grip on her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes.

Aang spoke softly, "I'm sorry, Katara, I didn't mean to make you cry…"

Katara shook her head and pushed him away slightly, but only so she could look at him, "You didn't make me cry…I just…Well…Just try your best to not get hurt…okay, Aang? I can't handle it twice…"

Aang frowned and looked down sadly, " Same goes for you."

They both nodded in agreement, creating an awkward silence between them.

Katara stared down at the necklace enclosed in her fist and she loosened her grip to admire the small smooth stone. She brought it up to her lips and closed her eyes, pressing her lips to it.

Aang smiled softly and as she lowered her hand onto her lap once more, he grabbed the necklace from her and pressed his lips against the stone as well, placing it back in her palm and closing her fingers around it, "Now just keep this with you, and know that I love you more than anything in the world."

He cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned towards her. She muttered, "I love you too, Aang," right before his lips met hers. They lingered there a moment, their eyes fluttering closed as they enjoyed each other's presence.

"GUYS! Where'd you go?" Sokka shouted across the yard. Aang sighed, looking down at his lap, irritated out of his mind. Katara was in a similar position.

Aang looked up, his irritation showing in the features of his face. Katara smiled though, "Just ignore him for a moment."

She leaned forward and the couple continued to kiss until Sokka screamed for them once more, a minute or two later. Aang pulled away slowly, his eyes still closed as they rested their foreheads against each other. Katara sighed, sliding her hands across their laps to grasp Aang's. "No matter what happens, just know I love you,"

Aang smiles softly, "I love you too, so much, and I'll protect you at any cost." He gently grabs the necklace from her palm and slides it over her head, kissing her nose.

Katara slides her arms around him hugs him tightly, never wanting to let go, but she knows she has to. They released each other and smiled, standing up and walking away, hand in hand.

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After two hours of flying, the gaang had still not found the energybender army. They could be anywhere in the Earth Kingdom! As they flew over the earth kingdom town they stopped at a few days before, Aang was reminded of what Hikaru had asked them to do.

"When you find out what the guru has to say…please return with a cure, and I will fight loyally by your side to defeat them. They will not get away with kidnapping my family"

Aang flew Appa down into the town and jumped off to talk with Hikaru. He didn't know what he would say to the man. He didn't know how they could cure him without the guru's help, or without spending too much time in meditation. They had to fight the energy benders now.

He hesitantly knocked on the door of Hikaru's father, waiting for someone to answer. It was Takeo, and at the sight of Aang, he smiled. "Come in, Avatar, come in."

Aang smiled and nodded, walking into the house and looking for Hikaru. He quickly found him sitting in a chair practicing Pai Sho. Aang smiled and sat down across from him.

Hikaru beamed at the sight of him, "Oh, thank goodness, Avatar, did you find a cure?"

Aang opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped himself, not knowing what to say. He looked down sadly.

Hikara looked depressed as well now, "I see…"

Aang quickly looked up at him, "No, Hikaru, there is a cure, it's just only a procedure a guru can do for you, I haven't really had enough practice to really teach someone yet. The cure take about two days to work, so we can't risk anymore waiting to end this before it really gets bad. If you want, you can still come with us to find your family, but unless you are skilled in anything besides bending, I don't know how much help you will be to us."

"Oh…I see. Well, I would like to rescue my family, and I am skilled with broadswords." Hikaru spoke, looking sad though.

"Then we'll take you with us, don't worry about it being a bother," Aang smiled.

"Really?" Hikaru already looked happier.

"Yes," Aang smiled, "But, we have a problem, we have no idea where they are."

"Oh, well, I can help you with that," Hikaru said, "I remember seeing airships rise from inside their ships when I had fallen to the floor. I saw them rise into the air and turn towards the north east, so we should head north east of my town, I can direct you where you need to go."

"Okay, that will work then." Aang smiled, standing up, "Though, how is your wound, does it cause you any pain?"

"Not enough to fuss about," Hikara laughed, "Let's get going."

"Right." Aang grinned, "Grab your broad swords and whatever else you'd like to bring and meet me outside."

"Can do," Hikaru spoke, running to another room of the house.

Aang grinned and walked outside, pulling his bison whistle necklace from under his shirt and blowing it, the high pitched ring sounding out and sending Appa flying. Appa landed right in front of Aang and the airbender smiled, steping forward and petting his old friend's nose. Appa closed his eyes in happiness.

Hikaru stepped out of the house and walked up to Appa, looking in wonder at the large bison.

"Go ahead, climb up," Aang smiled, boosting up himself.

Hikaru climbed on and awkwardly placed himself between Suki and Mai. Aang climbed onto Appa's head with Katara and called out, "Yip yip!" sending Appa flying into the sky.

It took many hours before the gaang made it to where Hikaru had guided them. There was still no sign of the energy benders, and the gaang was beginning to lose hope that they would find them that day.

Nighttime fell and they solemnly flew about the sky. How could they find a small army of men in an entire continent? The chances were thin.

That is, until they saw the smoke in the distance. Fire. Burning. Ashes. A town.

Everyone stared out at the devastation before them. Two large airships were parked about a mile away from them, and about half a mile farther was the burning town.

"We have to go help them!" Katara shouted out, still staring in shock at the fire.

Aang nodded and he turned to everyone else.

"But the energybenders are down there!" Sokka added.

"We can't let our fear of them change our minds about this, there are people down there! Innocent people who this shouldn't have happened to! We're going!" Aang yelled, anger and fear in his eyes, the energybenders would not get away with this, "Appa, yip yip!"

Appa bounded into the air and Aang eyed the town carefully. Screaming people were running out of the city and some earthbenders of the town were trying to put out the fires. He quickly turned to a nearby lake and he shook Katara's shoulder. She knew what he meant and they both stood up, grasping the water from the lake together and bending it into the sky above them.

The town was fairly large, and with everything being on fire like this, they had to hurry.

The kids flew up to Appa's head on their dragon-horses, shouting to Aang, "What should we do?"

Aang, who was sweating from the intense amount of water they were carrying, looked to them slowly, and muttered, "Try…getting people out of houses…but don't go into badly damaged ones…stay safe."

They nodded and flew down, running into the town to help the people.

Appa flew high above the town and Aang and Katara motioned for the water to hover beneath them, right above the city.

"I've…got it, Katara," Aang breathed, gritting his teeth.

Katara looked at him, confused, "But it's so much water,"

Aang flashed her his trademark grin, and said, "Hey, I'm the avatar aren't I?"

Katara half smiled and let go of her half of the water as Aang took control of it. Aang looked down and took a deep breath, calming his mind. Moments later, his eyes flashed a brilliant white and Katara stared at him, the Avatar State never ceasing to scare her.

Aang stood up straighter, the large amount of water no longer straining him, he bent his knees and spun around, taking the water with him. The water broke up into tiny pieces, creating a large shower of water, and he sent it all flying down on the town. He exited the Avatar State and fell down on his back on Appa's head. Katara quickly helped him sit up and he shook off his dizziness.

"Let's go!" Aang shouted once he got up, "Help anyone you can. Put out fires, rescue people, etcetera." He landed Appa outside the town and he and everyone else ran in.

Aang was the first in, his determination and his airbending speeding him up. He saw a building about to collapse nearby, it appeared to be a house. One wall had already caved in, so he jumped inside. At first he couldn't find anyone, but then he heard the screaming child near him. He kneeled down quickly, starting to cough heavily due to the smoke, picking up stray boards and throwing them aside. Soon he spotted her, a small girl, probably five years old, holding a tiny baby in some cloths.

Aang shouted to them, the burning and screaming sounds from around the town being very loud. "I'm the Avatar, I'm here to help you, come here,"

"Th-the Avatar?" The little girl coughed out. She crawled forward clumsily, until Aang was close enough to pick her up.

"Hold the baby close to you, I'll get you out of here," Aang smiled weakly, "Is there anyone else in the house?"

"N-no, my parents were out working." She whispered, clutching the baby tightly as it cried.

"Okay, here we g-," Aang was interrupted as a few flaming boards collapsed onto his back, he cried out when it happened a gritted his teeth. It was extremely heavy, and he knew that at any moment, the ceiling would crash.

"Are you okay, mister Avatar?" The little girl cried.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just hold on," Aang winced. He shifted his arms so that one was gripping the girl and baby, and the other was free to airbend. He moved his free arm in a circular motion, creating an airball around them. He expanded it and the boards lifted themselves from his back, earning a sigh of relief from him. Soon there was room enough to stand and Aang jumped out of the house, right as it collapsed.

He got them out near Appa and told the girl to stay there where it was safe.

He ran back in, successfully rescuing ten little kids and their caretaker from an orphanage. He hadn't seen any of his friends since they ran in. Multiple houses followed.

He ran into another house, coughing like crazy, his arm up to his mouth to try and block some of the smoke, "Hello! Is anyone in here?"

A weak "yeah" came from the room next to him and he rushed in. There was a girl in the room, probably around his age. Her leg was crushed beneath the back wall of the room. She was crying, but when she saw him, she spoke, "A-Avatar Aang. You're here!"

Aang gave a weak smile to her, running over to lift up the numerous boards pinning her down.

Eventually he got the boards off of her and flipped her over onto her back. He scooped her up into his arms and made his way out of the building. Once he had got back to Appa, he set her down softly on his tail. He straightened himself out and took in his surroundings. Most of the fires had been put out by the lakewater, and some by townsfolk using water from wells in buckets. The fires that remained were the ones that his friends were checking for people.

A large crowd of people had formed, made out of the people the gaang had rescued or the ones that had escaped themselves. Aang sighed, knowing that many more people remained. He had already encountered enough dead bodies for him to handle, but at least they had saved quite a few people. He wiped sweat from his brow and ran back in, saving a few more people, and on his last round, he saw a figure standing in the middle of a burning street.

He shouted out to it, "Hey! You need to get out of here! Follow me!"

He waited for the figure to respond, but instead the figure walked up slowly. Aang stared at the man in confusion, but walked forward as well.

As soon as the figure's face came into view, Aang gasped and stepped back.

"Kang-Dae…" Aang whispered in both fear and anger.

"I knew you'd come and find me sometime, Avatar," Kang-Dae smirked, "You probably thought you had killed me at the end of the last battle."

Aang glared at him, "No, I knew you weren't that weak."

Kang-Dae laughed, "Well, I'm glad we can both agree I'm stronger than you."

"I never said that," Aang growled, his fists tightening, "I came here to end this once and for all."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Kang-Dae continued to laugh, "You have a weak group of friends, and I killed the last one that had a decent amount of power."

"No…she's alive." Aang muttered, continuing his glare.

Kang-Dae stopped his laughing and he squinted his eyes to focus on Aang, to see if he was lying or not, "There's no way, that was a fatal wound I gave her. She died. I took her bending away. And no one has the power to bring back the dead except rare spirits."

Aang was the one to smirk now, "Then maybe I have more power than you think I do."

Kang-Dae scoffed at this, "We'll see when the battle begins."

Aang looked at the prince, confused, "And when is that?"

"Hmmm," Kang-Dae crossed his arms over his chest, "Tomorrow, one hour before sunset. In the clearing of the mountains to the east of here."

"No!" Aang growled, "I came here to end this now! I will not wait!" He jumped forward through the air and flung a large boulder made from the pavement in the street towards Kang-Dae.

Kang-Dae also jumped into the air, dodging it, "I know you're weak from rescuing all of these people, Avatar, so I want to fight you at your full potential! Rest up for tomorrow, for you will need all the strength you can get." And with that, he ran off into the fire.

Aang stared, wide-eyed and angry in the direction that Kang-Dae disappeared in. He was angry, but as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was too weak to fight for long. He couldn't breath, he could hardly see, and the pain in his back from the board falling on him was throbbing. Kang-Dae would kill him in seconds, and then where would the world be?

Aang suddenly felt dizzy, and he stepped back a bit, he had to get out of here before he would pass out. He ran clumsily back towards Appa, where all of his friends were waiting for him.

Katara ran up and hugged him, supporting him due to the fact that he could hardly walk. Aang managed to look up at the still burning town.

"No…" He whispered, "There are still people there….we can't…stop." He gently pushed Katara away and walked up to the town, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

"He can't possibly be thinking of going into the Avatar State can he?" Katara asked in fear, turning to her friends, "He's too weak."

Sure enough, moments later, Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed and he bounded high into the air, gathering up a large amount of air. He sent it all down upon the town and used it to send air currents through the buildings and the streets to blow the fires away.

After he was finished, the town was clear of fire, and he began to float back down in a ball of air. Ten feet above the ground though, he passed out, and fell to the ground, landing on his back with a thud.

"Aang!" Katara cried as she ran up to him, she sat down and placed his head on her lap, taking the remaining water from her waterskin and getting to work on his burns.

"Wow…I didn't know Aang could do that much just using the Avatar State," Suki whispered, staring at the once-burning town.

"It's amazing, the power he can have sometimes," Sokka added, "It makes us seem kind of useless in comparison."

"You know Aang doesn't think of us like that," Katara spoke to Sokka, but continued watching Aang, "He loves us all, and appreciates all that we do for him, even if in comparison, we are weak."

"I guess so…" Sokka answered.

"Though I do see where you're coming from," Katara added, while shrugging, but then she changed the subject, "Where did Hikaru go? Did he come out of the town yet? Has anyone seen him?" She began to worry.

"No, don't worry about him, he went to investigate the airships with Toph, to see if his family was being kept hostage inside," Zuko spoke while brushing some ashes off of his shoulder, though it was no use, they were all covered.

"Just the two of them?" Katara asked, worriedly, "Are they okay?"

Everyone shrugged, and Sokka said, "We told you, we haven't heard from them."

Katara looked down sadly, "Well, I hope they made it alright."

After tending the wounds of the townsfolk, everyone set up camp around Appa and went to bed, taking turns staying up, waiting for Toph and Hikaru to return. Aang still hadn't awakened yet, but his burns were healed, as well as most of the bruise from his back. He lay sleeping inside Katara's sleeping bag, while she laid down next to him outside of the bag.

Near one o' clock in the morning, it was Katara's turn to watch for them and sure enough, they showed up, a large group of people following them.

Katara stood up and stared at them in shock, wondering where the people came from.

"They were keeping prisoners on board!" Hikaru shouted to her, snapping her out of her daze, "I found my family, they're okay!"

Katara grinned and shouted back, "That's great!"

"Ehhh," Sokka groaned from his bed on the ground, "Could you be any louder!"

Katara's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at him and she walked up to him, kicking his side to wake him. "Hikaru and Toph are back with the energybenders' prisoners."

Sokka wasn't extremely thrilled, due to his tiredness, but he got up anyways, going to wake up everyone else.

Once everyone, with the exception of Aang, was awake, they walked up to Hikaru, looking at him with his family. He was very happy with his wife and children, one boy, probably around ten or eleven years, and one girl, probably around Katara's age. His kids clung to him, their arms wrapped around him as he stood there, holding the hand of his wife.

The girl walked up to Katara, "Where's Avatar Aang? Is he okay?"

Katara nodded, "Yes, he was very tired from everything he did last night, and he passed out, but I'm sure he'll be fine. Most of us were on the verge of passing out, believe me," she laughed.

The girl smiled and nodded, "Well, I'm glad he's okay,"

Katara smiled and nodded as well, walking back over to Aang and kneeling down beside him. She froze a washcloth slightly and placed it on his forehead, causing him to flinch a little. Aang's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Katara, "Where…where are we?"

Katara beamed at the sight of him awake, "We're right outside the town you saved," She cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled.

Aang grinned slightly, "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, and Hikaru and Toph made it back safely."

"Where did they go again?" Aang winced as he sat up, still a bit sore. He shook it off and very soon he did not feel any pain.

"To break into the airships and see if there were any hostages on board," Katara answered.

"Were there any?" Aang asked looking around, but once he saw the new crowd of people, he answered himself by muttering, "Oh."

He stood up and took in his surroundings; so many people were crowded, getting wounds treated by each other. Even Katara, who had gotten a fairly bad burn from a falling board on her arm had been bandaged up. Unfortunately, this is the price of helping people. He figured that Katara had healed his burns, seeing as though most of the burns he remembered were gone.

Despite all of the healing he had received, he was still covered from head to toe in ash, as was most of the people there. Aang walked over so that the hole that the lake was in was in sight. Thankfully, he and Katara had not taken all of the water from the lake, so they could have someplace to wash up, they would just have to walk down a little while to get to where the water starts.

The large group of people all decided to continue to sleep until morning, so they did, and in the morning, with the help of the rest of the gaang, everyone was able to escort the large group of people to the small lake. Everyone dove in to clean their burns and wounds.

Katara ran up to Aang, laughing, tackling him into the water with a washcloth in her hand. Since they were near the shore, in wasn't deep and Aang splashed into the water, sinking to the bottom and grinning as he looked up at Katara. She grinned back at him and pulled him back from the soft muddy floor.

Once they had caught their breath, Katara laughed and said, "You wash my back, I'll wash yours?"

Aang laughed as well, "Sure thing."

They were both still completely clothed, but they still got to work scrubbing ashes and dust out of their clothes before getting to work on skin, though most of it was coming off by just being in the water itself.

An hour passed and everyone was thoroughly cleaned, so they left the lake and got dry, most people venturing back into the town to see what all had made it. Luckily for them, a lot of the buildings had brick or stone walls, instead of wood, and only the roofs had caught on fire. The poorer houses that were made only with wood were the ones that collapsed.

Aang walked up to a random man from the group of rescued people. "How did this happen? Did an army invade and set the town on fire?"

The man shakily nodded his head and turned around to face his family.

Aang sighed, but then he remembered his encounter with Kang-Dae the night before. His eyes widened and he turned to his friends. It was around nine in the morning, and they didn't have to fight until around five in the evening.

When Katara walked up to him, curious about his expression, he looked at her worriedly and closed his eyes, "Katara, come with me,"

He grabbed her hand and led her a little ways away from the rest of the people. "Last night, when I was running through the town looking for people to help, I ran into someone."

Katara looked at him, confused, "Who?"

Aang took a breath before saying, "Kang-Dae,"

Katara's eyes widened and she asked, "What did you do?"

"I tried to fight him…" Aang muttered, turning his head away from her, "I know I shouldn't have…not without your guy's help….but-"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No…but we are going to fight him…" Aang muttered, causing an uncomfortable silence between them.

Katara sighed and looked away from him, not meeting his eyes, asking softly, "When?"

Aang looked off towards their friends, "This evening, one hour before sunset."

Katara closed her eyes before opening them and tightening her fists in anger, "Why so soon? We haven't had enough time to rest, you're still hurt, and you haven't recovered from all the exertion you put into the Avatar State."

"I know…I know, Katara, but this is just how it has to be," Aang sighed, looking down at his feet, "If we don't end this now then he'll just be able to hurt more people, and we can't let that happen."

"Fine…" Katara muttered, looking down at her feet, then she looked over at their friends again, "I'll let everyone know, I guess."

"Good. Thank you, Katara." Aang managed to give her a small smile which she returned softly as she walked over to everyone.

A few hours passed and around noon, many townsfolk began preparing large quantities of rice for the groups of people who had not yet ventured back into the town to inspect everything. Luckily, the granary for the village was not burned down, so everyone had enough to eat.

Katara spooned out servings for everyone and took a seat next to Aang as everyone ate. A man and a few of his friends walked up to their friend circle and stood before Aang, looking expectantly at him.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Aang asked politely, looking up at them questionably.

"Well, it is our understanding that you are going to go fight the young man who set fire to our town…"

"Yes. That is correct," Aang said, slowly standing up to look at them better.

"We would be more than honored to reward your deeds here by prepping you for battle with armor of any sort you would like," The man said, a smile on his face.

Aang smiled, but said, "That is very kind of you, but I think I'll be fine the way I am."

"We have thin armor that can really come in handy. It is called chainmail, and it makes it so that swords or knives cannot puncture the skin." Aang stared up at the man, only thinking with slight irritation that the chailmail would have been very helpful to have had at their last encounter with Kang-Dae.

He smiled nonetheless, "Actually, that does seem interesting, come on guys." Aang waved his friends over and they all walked to the town armory.

Once they arrived, they browsed through the town's collection of armor and weapons. Truthfully, they enjoyed and preferred the supplies they already had, but from the results they got from their last encounter with the energybenders, they decided to at least give them a thought.

After about an hour of browsing, they had given in to a few upgrades they had found. Aang got a thin, but strong, metal covering for his staff. It could be removed at any time, but it greatly helped the sturdiness of it. He also reluctantly took a dagger that could easily be tied onto his belt. Katara, by request from Aang, received a thin chainmail shirt to go under her robe. It covered her chest and abdomen, so Aang allowed himself to relax a bit, knowing she was protected. Sokka had his sword strengthened. Everyone else just stuck to what they already had.

After thanking the men for their gifts, the gaang walked back to their camp.

Buyou ran up to Aang and tugged on his robes to get his attention. After Aang turned, he asked, "So are we really going into battle with Kang-Dae tonight?"

Aang sighed, looking at the condition of their little team, "Unfortunately, yes." He muttered.

"Oh…well, we'll fight with you no matter what, Aang!" Buyou spoke proudly, earning nods and grins of agreement from the other children.

"Thank you," Aang spoke softly, a sad smile on his face. He hated this. They were only children and they were fighting a battle that they had a good chance of losing. All the rest of them were teenagers, though, so that wasn't much better.

"Should we be training? Preparing for tonight?" Suki asked, directing her question to Aang.

After a brief pause, Aang said, "No. I want everyone to go and enjoy themselves. Have fun, play at the lake, play games, I don't care, just…enjoy yourselves."

Everyone looked at him questionably, they would have suggested to train and practice battle strategies. Yet, in the midst of this, when given the option, they would much rather have fun then spend their remaining few hours not in battle training.

And so that's what they did.

Townsfolk brought in Pai Sho sets and other games and all of the children gathered around and played sports. Aang smiled as he saw everyone having fun and entertaining themselves. After awhile, no one was paying attention to him, so he used that opportunity to slip away and bound up a mountain.

He sat on a cliff and got in his lotus position, beginning to meditate. If he was going to win this battle, then he had to clear his mind. He went over everything he knew to be true that may help him in his battle.

Destroy the sword…Not Kang-Dae…Destroy the sword…This will all end…

He repeated that in his mind until it would not leave.

Suddenly furious, he shouted up to the sky, "How do I destroy the sword? Give me some guidance!"

He put his head in his hands and took deep breaths, trying to sort things out, hoping that a past avatar would help him.

Did Guru Pathik mean just break the sword? Like…in half? Or steal it's power? But I thought he said not to steal it's energy. No. He said not to steal Kang-Dae's energy. So, does that mean I have to steal the swords energy? How does that work?

"Gahh," Aang sighed, clasping his hands behind his neck, trying to focus. "I'll just…do what my heart tells me…during the battle."

He glided down the mountain and spotted his friends playing a sport against the younger children of the town. They were losing.

Aang laughed and watched as they kicked the ball across their makeshift game field. The children were tinier and more agile as they kicked the ball in numerous directions around the teenagers. Soon the game ended, 30:4

Aang's mood had greatly increased, but their was still the constant pang of worry that plagued him when he gave their situation too much thought. He watched as the sun passed over the sky, it had to be around mid afternoon, so the time of battle was near.

Around the four o'clock hour, everyone had a small meal of noodles to satiate them during the fight.

Aang looked off towards the clearing in the mountains that Kang-Dae said the battle would begin, he sighed, trying to focus on his friends and on his noodles.

That's when he heard the shouts.

It was all of a sudden. The only sounds had been the idle chit chat that had been going on around the camps.

But it wasn't shouts that he was hearing. No. It was a battle cry. Aang stood up abruptly, staring in fear towards the area he had just been looking. Katara heard the sound, as well as quite a few others in the area.

They appeared to be a black swarm, flooding in through a space between two mountains.

It was Kang-Dae's army.

There was mass panic. Some of the villagers headed towards the town, some hunkered down in fear and screamed for help, others just stood up and ran. Ran, and ran, and ran. Heading nowhere in particular but away.

"No!" Aang shouted, fear and anger in his voice.

Their gaang had stood up and was gathering their weapons or drawing as much of their element towards them. Katara turned to Aang in a panic, "What are they doing here? You said we were meeting them an hour before sunset!"

"I know what I said! He lied to me! It was a set up!" Aang looked at the oncoming army with hesitation, "Prepare for battle, guys…"

He walked up towards the oncoming army and contemplated his first move.

As his friends lined up around him, he scanned them slowly. He looked up toward the mass of soldiers coming up to them doubtfully, knowing that there was no way they could win this.

"Wait…I changed my mind…Stand back," Aang sighed, walking forward with a slight limp from his previous exertions.

Katara ran up to him hastily, "No, Aang, you can't!"

"Katara, there's no way we can take them, let me, It's all going to be fine." He pulled her close and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Now stand back…"

He turned and faced the army, they were getting very close now.

As they got closer, Aang saw that Kang-Dae was in front. He closed his eyes and focused on the cosmic energy of the universe. Quickly his eyes flashed a brilliant white and he spread out his arms. His head started hurting, probably from the overuse of the Avatar State. Air surrounded his arms in a rapid swirling motion. He ran up to meet the army and extended the air out in a massive wave to knock the soldiers back.

It crashed against them and send many of them into the air and the others either into the ground or flying backwards. Kang-Dae blocked the blast and smirked at Aang, stopping and crossing his arms over his chest. Many of his soldiers were up again, preparing to bound towards Aang and the other villagers again, but Kang-Dae called them off with a laugh.

"So I guess my attempt at a surprise attack was a failure? Or are you surprised?" He laughed, spreading his arms out to gesture to Aang.

Still furious and in the Avatar State, Aang tightened his fists and growled, "Why are you here!"

Kang-Dae pretended to yawn and said, "Yeah, I got pretty bored just waiting."

"Send your army back! This has to be settled between you…and me…!" Aang shouted, exiting the Avatar State because it was draining his energy. He breathed heavily, "We will settle this…in that clearing…now. Leave your army and these townsfolk out of it!"

His friends stared at him, shocked by his intensity.

He and Kang-Dae stared each other down for a long time. Kang-Dae scanned over Aang's friends, who were standing firmly in an arch around Aang. He eyed Katara and stared at her in shocked, doubting that she could actually be alive. He glared at her and then spoke to Aang, "Fine. I accept your proposition. Follow me, we settle this now."

Aang growled under his breath, motioning for his friends to follow him as he began to limp forward. Katara jogged up to him, "Aang, you're too weak! Ask for another day! You need to rest!"

Aang continued walking forward, but turned to Katara, "No…This has to end now. Too many lives are at stake. He is too impatient anyways. This battle is happening, but you do not have to fight if you do not want to. It is up to you."

Katara stared at him in shock, "Of course I am fighting, whether you want me to or not! I am staying by your side and fighting with you until the end of this. We will win, Aang."

"I…I hope so," The monk spoke worriedly, "Don't join the fight unless I tell you guys to, okay?"

She nodded in reply.

They walked in a single file line through the mass of soldiers before them, making them seem like they were prisoners of the energybenders. Who knows? Maybe they are.

When they finally made it to the clearing, Kang-Dae called his soldiers off, to head back to the ship, except for a few groups of men for backup. After many grunts and groans and shouts of protest, his army complied and fled to their ship. This left the gaang and Kang-Dae standing on opposite sides of the clearing.

Birds chirped happily above them, giving them a false sense of peace. There was no peace here though, the battle they were about to fight could be deadly.

After a silence, Kang-Dae spoke up, saying, "So, how's this going to start, Avatar?"

Aang gritted his teeth and shouted, grasping his staff tighter in his hand, "Like this!" He bounded into the air, taking is staff and spinning it around him, using it to guide his firebending in a solid slice towards Kang-Dae.

The energybending prince smirked and easily deflected the blow, running to meet Aang where he landed on the ground. They engaged in a simple martial arts fight, trying to kick and punch each other with the occasional blast of an element.

As this was going on, Kang-Dae asked, "So, I see what you said was true," he landed a punch against Aangs stomach, earning a grunt from him, "About the girl being alive."

Aang growled and successfully kicked Kang-Dae's side with a blast of fire, setting his outer robe on fire. Kang-Dae grunted and ripped away the burning fabric, tossing it off and revealing the large amount of armor he had beneath, clasped on tightly to his green under robes. He tried to punch Aang in the face, but he ducked just in time, "How did that happen?"

Aang smirked, wiping away the sweat on his brow, a lot of his energy was gone from the Avatar State, "I healed her, using a technique that **you** told us about, no less. Works wonders, don't it?"

This was a slap in the face to Kang-Dae, but he didn't let it show. "Yes, indeed it does, Avatar. Just more fun for me I suppose. I've never killed a person twice before."

Enraged, Aang head butted him in the stomach using airbending to propel him. Kang-Dae was sent many feet backwards. Aang yelled at him, "Don't you ever touch her again!"

Katara knew that this battle was going to get out of hand, really fast. She told everyone that they needed to jump in and help. They ran forward and Aang tried to shout to them to send them away, but they ignored him, sending multiple blasts of elements towards him and coming at him with their weapons.

Kang-Dae jumped away from Aang and one at a time fought of their attacks, he tried to get away but they kept on coming. They were about to surround him but he jumped up into the air and landed away from them. "How weak that you have to have your little friends help you out. At least make it even." He then shouted out to some of his soldiers, ordering that nine of them go after the other members of the gaang, one for each of them.

Three of the energybender soldiers ran towards the kids. Without any fear they charged after the soldiers, weapons at the ready as everyone else took on their opponents.

"Lift, Usagi!" Noboru called out as he ran and quickly the little earthbender shot up the ground beneath him, sending him bounding into the air. Noboru raised his mallet and swung down at the first very confused soldier. He was knocked to the ground from the impact and Noboru landed on him, jumping up and down until it was clear the man would not be getting up soon.

Buyou kept himself busy trying to figure out where he could shoot one of his darts so that it would hit skin, not armor. He decided his cheek was his best shot, so he aimed and fired, missing the man's eye bye only a few inches. He had used a pain-pincher dart so the man quickly pulled out the small dart and cupped his face in one hand, pulling out his sword with the other. He started swinging blindly at Buyou, but the little boy was too fast.

Usagi, who was busy shooting rocks at her solider, found time to run and assist Buyou when she successfully knocked hers out with a particularly fast moving rock. She did the same thing to Buyou's soldier and quickly the men were all taken out, laying side by side on the ground. Noboru swung his mallet down on Buyou's soldier to assure his unconsciousness.

The children marveled in their work a few moments before checking on everyone else.

Katara had easily taken out her soldier with a few blasts of ice, and Sokka and Suki's soldiers were knocked out by their knowledge of hand-to-hand combat skills. Toph's soldier never stood a chance against her and Zuko and Mai used swords and knives to finish their job.

Kang-Dae growled at them, surprised by their quickness. Now infuriated by his weak army, he formed a glowing red ball of energy in his fist. Aang at first thought it was fire and was too distracted by its bright glow to notice where it was headed. Kang-Dae's blast was jammed against Aang's stomach, and with a loud 'Oof!', Aang was knocked backwards, a small hole in the fabric on his abdomen was burned away.

Aang grasped at his stomach and let out a groan. Zuko decided it was time to cut in. He ran towards Kang-Dae with his dual swords and set them on fire on the blades.

"Finally, a good sword fight!" Kang-Dae shouted, drawing his sword out as well, setting it aglow with red energy. A few minutes passed as the two fought it out, but every time the swords collided, spurts of energy would shoot off and hit Zuko. Mai tried sending knives at him but he easily ducked away from them.

Toph grew impatient and shifted the ground beneath Kang-Dae back and forth, sending him off balance, but he just jumped into the air and made the ground beneath her shoot up high into the air. She was falling quickly and screamed for help.

Aang, who had regained enough energy to stand back up, shouted, "Toph!" And jumped into the air, catching her just in the nick of time.

The kids tried to triple-team him from three sides but he shoved them aside with a blast of white energy and they were all knocked out almost instantaneously.

"Your friends are getting hurt, Avatar. I never thought you'd stoop to the level of having other people fight your battles," Kang-Dae smirked, easily shooting away anyone who wanted to attack him.

Aang contemplated this, gritting his teeth and growling, "Guys, stay back, I don't want you getting hurt!"

Katara's face grew stern, "No, Aang, I told you, we're fighting with you until the end."

"You all shouldn't even be fighting, it's my duty to protect this world from threats like him. You shouldn't have to be dragged into this!" Aang begged, "Please, stay out of this."

"No, we're not doing this because we have to, Aang. We want to help you!" Katara countered.

Kang-Dae smirked, but then let out a fake yawn, "Can we stop this idle chit chat and get to the fighting?"

Aang growled and in his rage, tried to punch Kang-Dae in the jaw, to shut him up. Unfortunately, Kang-Dae saw this coming and used a blast of white energy to knock Aang many yards away. Every one standing took off to go help him, except for Katara, who's eyes remained locked on Kang-Dae's.

Kang-Dae met her gaze, "So, the Avatar told me he brought you back from the dead…I have to admit, I'm not pleased."

Katara's look of anger turned to one of pure loathing as she gritted her teeth, "We're not trying to please you! You've caused so much pain, this ends now!"

She sprinted towards him, water in hand, shooting quick swipes of water at him, effectively sending him backwards. A somewhat scared look appeared in his eyes as he tried to swipe his sword at her. It slashed across her abdomen and ripped her robes, but the chainmail beneath prevented it from slicing her. After that, she dodged each one and managed to actually hurt him slightly.

This small battle continued on as the others managed to wake up Aang. His tiredness from the exertion of the Avatar State and fighting, and the impact from that attack had knocked him out. This was not a good day for Aang.

Katara was fighting pretty well until she stepped back and lost her balance on a stone. She began to fall backwards and as her arms flailed out to catch her, Kang-Dae grasped onto her wrist. In one swift move, he flipped her onto her stomach on the ground. All she could register at that moment was the sound of a crack and she knew that something bad had just happened.

Her face against the ground, she let out a high pitched yelp of pain. Pain swelled into her right arm and she knew that it was broken. Kang-Dae's grip on her wrist lessened and she yanked it away, causing more pain to flood to the break. He kicked her in the stomach, emitting new pain to her tender wound. She curled into a ball on her side clutching her wounded arm to her chest and gritting her teeth as her stomach wound throbbed. She heard her friends shout her name from the other side of the clearing.

She heard Kang-Dae's laughter amidst her fast breathing and she turned to face him shakily. "See…now _this_ looks familiar, don't you think?" He raised up his sword, clasping the handle with both hands, pointing the tip towards her chest as she tried to scoot back away from him with hardly any success. He raised it, preparing to strike as he shouted, "How many times do I have to kill you, girl?"

She let out a scream of fear as she tried to defend herself with one arm, closing her eyes and trying to turn away. Where she thought she would hear the sound of the sword entering her flesh, she instead heard the sound of metal against metal. Two swords meeting.

Her eyes opened and she saw Sokka standing over her, using all the strength in his body to deflect the blow that would have ended his sister's life. His teeth gritted, he called out to Aang, "Come and get her for me!"

Aang was already sprinting over, his eyes in pure panic. Sokka grunted as his sword shook against Kang-Dae's strength. The energybender prince was mad, "How dare you! She should be dead anyways! I already killed h-,"

"Shut up!" Sokka barked at Kang-Dae, catching him off guard, "You never EVER speak about my sister again. I swear I'll kill you if you ever touch her again!"

Katara's mouth stood agape in partial shock from Sokka's aggression and partially because of the stringing pain she was experiencing in her right forearm and stomach. Aang swooped down and quickly gathered her up in his arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop him, sweetie, please forgive me," Aang whimpered out after he had fled from where Sokka and Kang-Dae were dueling it out. Zuko and Suki took their swords to help out as well. Aang sat Katara down against a large boulder jutting out of the ground. Toph and Mai ran over to Katara, whose eyes were threatening to spill with tears at any second.

"Let me see, Katara," Aang said softly to her as he gently lifted her arm into his hands. He pressed lightly down on a spot that he saw dotted with large bruises. She winced almost immediately, pleading that he stopped. He flung his hand back quickly.

Suki had apparently left the small fight going on to help Katara, and Sokka and Zuko were fighting well against Kang-Dae anyways. She kneeled in front of Katara, seeing that she was cradling her arm against her, biting her lip, "Is it broken?"

Katara shrugged slightly, "I'm not sure, I think it may though," she gritted her teeth as she tried to move her arm.

"Alright. Here, me and the other Kyoshi warriors were given some medical instruction, I bet I can set the bone for you," She noticed the bone had popped slightly out of place, "It'll hurt when I set it, but it will heal more properly if it is set."

Katara merely nodded and tried to focus on the sword fight that was going on on the other side of the clearing. After a few minutes, Suki was able to set the bone properly.

Everyone but Katara stood up and prepared to join the battle again.

Aang kneeled down in front of Katara, "Don't fight anymore, I don't want you getting hurt any more." He looked at her worriedly.

"I still have one good arm, I can fight!" Katara countered, meeting Aang's gaze.

"No…Katara, I admire your desire to keep fighting even though it's tough, but please, you've gotten hurt enough for one lifetime," Aang spoke to her, clasping her hands in his, "Just keep your arm still and stay here, I'll settle this, once and for all. No more pain. No more fighting."

Katara was about to try and convince Aang to let her fight, when they heard a loud "Oof!" come from behind them.

"Sokka!" Katara cried as she saw her brother smash against a large tree behind him, slumping to the ground beside it, unconscious.

Aang grunted in anger towards Kang-Dae for causing all this pain, finalizing his small argument with Katara by saying, "Just stay here! Please!" before taking off towards Sokka.

Zuko was still going at Kang-Dae with all he had, but he was getting tired. Kang-Dae just moved too fast, and he couldn't keep up. He had suffered from small burns from their fighting and a few bruises. He somewhat predicted his fate as he too was flung into the trees, hitting his head and being knocked unconscious.

Aang shouted with all the anger in him, "Stop this! They have nothing to do with this! Leave them out of it!"

Kang-Dae smirked, "They're the ones attacking me, so I have every right to fight back."

Aang gritted his teeth in frustration, turning to the last of his standing friends, "Stay out of this…Clear everyone to the sides, I don't want any more of you getting hurt." He closed his eyes and sighed before turning and grabbing his staff. He walked back to Kang-Dae.

The clearing was unnaturally quiet as everyone watched, holding their breaths, as they anticipated the duel that was about to take place. They badly wanted to help, but Aang wouldn't let them.

Aang made the first move, only wanting to end this battle faster. He swung his staff at Kang-Dae with a blast of fire. Metal hit metal as his armor-coated staff connected with the evil sword. Sweat formed on Aang's brow as he battled against the power of Kang-Dae and his sword.

They swung and kicked at each other, burning and bruising each other in the process. The fight dragged on for half an hour with multiple attempts by the gaang to help out. The children and Sokka had woken up after being knocked out, but Zuko remained unconscious because he had hit his head.

Katara had enough. She couldn't stand watching them fight like that, Aang was getting hurt, and she wouldn't allow that any longer. She used her good arm to push herself up from her sitting position on the ground. She ran behind Kang-Dae, sure that he could not see her coming.

Aang noticed her, though, and his fear registered on his face. Kang-Dae noticed this, smirked, and used Aang's distraction to his advantage. He raised up his sword with both hands, ready to swipe it across Aang's torso, but suddenly a cold chill ran down his back. He was suddenly soaked.

Then it was Aang's turn to use Kang-Dae's distraction to his advantange. He swiped his staff through the air with the help of a gust of airbending. It collided with Kang-Dae's sword, and due to his shock, it was knocked out of his hands.

The gust of wind sent the sword flying several yards to the left of Aang. Kang-Dae stared in pure shock at Aang and then took off for his sword.

This was Aang's only chance. If he could get to that sword, maybe he could find a way to destroy it and end this battle. Or…at least the hard part of the battle. All of Kang-Dae's power came from that sword.

Katara had taken to running back to the sidelines. She expected Kang-Dae to rush back after her, but it seemed his rage and terror at losing his grip on his sword was blinding him.

Aang had taken off towards the sword as well, and because of his airbending skills, he made it there first. He leaned over mid-run and grasped the handle of the sword. He knew as soon as he touched it that there was something wrong.

Kang-Dae stopped and stared at Aang in fear as he held the sword.

Suddenly, Aang's vision blurred, and his arm shook rapidly as massive waves of pain wracked through his body. He grasped at his shaking arm with his left hand, trying to stop it. A purple ball of energy encircled his body and his eyes opened wide.

"So…much…power…" Aang muttered, staring off, his eyes unseeing, "It's incredible…"

Kang-Dae tried to run forward and steal the sword away from Aang, but the purple energy that surrounded him acted as a force field.

Aang laughed, partially insane as power coursed through his veins, "This is amazing…" He gritted his teeth and tried to shake out of his insanity, but it came back tenfold. "I feel like I could do…anything…"

He started staggering towards Kang-Dae, whose eyes were wide with fear.

"I'm going to kill you, Kang-Dae," Aang laughed maniacally, his eyes wide and crazed, "I'm going to kill you for all you've done wrong!" He started running forward, the sword in hand.

Katara watched in terror as all of this occurred. He came into contact with the sword and it overtook him that quickly. This wasn't the Avatar State, she didn't know if she would be able to shake him out of his rage. She wanted to try though, despite her fear.

She cradled her arm against her body tightly and sprinted towards Aang, "Aang! Stop! You're being possessed!"

Still Aang pressed forward, the demonic look present in his wide-opened eyes. When she reached him, she grabbed onto his arm with one hand and pleaded for him to stop. His response was shaking his arm from her grasp and pushing her down with one arm.

When she fell to the ground, letting out a small whimper as her tailbone hit the hard packed ground of the clearing, Aang stopped a moment, his expression softening for a split second as he murmured with a pained, worried voice, "Kata-,"

Katara watched him, wide-eyed, as his face contorted with conflicting emotions of rage and concern, fighting against the good and evil in his brain. His face suddenly hardened as he stared her down, an angry expression on his face.

_Kill her, _Voices saying that phrase filled his head. He slowly sauntered towards Katara, lifting the sword high, ready to strike. Kang-Dae stood about ten yards behind Aang, watching with confusion.

"No, Aang! You're stronger than this!" Katara pleaded with him, she noticed that their friends were calling her name, running towards her to give her help.

"Fight it!" She called out, but her voice hardly affected Aang. He stood over her, preparing to send the sword down upon her, when suddenly, Kang-Dae ran up and grabbed Aang's arm tightly, causing his grip to lessen enough for the prince to knock it out of his hands.

Kang-Dae grasped the sword and ran a few yards away, alittle bit crazed from the lack of his sword.

Aang fell to his hands and knees, his eyes full of shock, his mouth agape. A few moments later, he looked up at Katara, "Oh, Katara, I'm so sorry!" He took her into his arms, and she only hesitated slightly before returning the hug.

"It wasn't me!" He cried, "It was the sword! It implanted horrible thoughts in my head and controlled my every move!" Katara looked at him sympathetically and told him that she didn't blame him.

"It possessed you because you are weak, Avatar," said Kang-Dae, who had obviously gotten over his terror from losing his sword momentarily.

This threw Aang over the edge. Trying to keep calm, he placed his hand on Katara's and quietly told her to go back to everyone else, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, "I'm going to end this, right now." She nodded silently and with his help, stood up and walked back to the others.

Aang, still in a rage, walked menacingly towards Kang-Dae. His eyes flashed briefly to give him a surge of power to slam Kang-Dae against a tree. Falling down on his back, Kang-Dae gritted his teeth in discomfort, but still smirked up at Aang, who held down the prince by his shoulders, an evil glare in his eyes.

"What are you going to do now, Avatar?" Kang-Dae asked, the same smirk on his face, "Kill me? I doubt it. You're weak, Avatar, weak."

In a surge of aggression, Aang swiftly pulled his dagger out from its sheath on his belt. He hovered the sharpened tip right above Kang-Dae's heart, teeth gritted and eyes burning with rage. Different parts of his mind fought against each other to decide what to do.

Kill him. He killed Katara, remember? He deserves this.

_No…No one deserves to die._

_Katara didn't, but he still killed her. He murdered her. _

_Stop!…I know what he did…and he deserves to be punished…but-_

_So, kill him. Nothing's stopping you, Aang. You are the most powerful being on earth. You only have to lift a finger and he's gone._

_I know, but-_

_Do it!_

"No…." Aang muttered aloud, his face contorting with his conflicting feelings. He stood up angrily, glaring down at Kang-Dae and walking away backwards slightly, "Go! Go home to your city and leave the people of the surface alone. I swear I _will_ kill you if you decide to return or harm even one more person."

"No, Aang! You had him! You could have ended it!" Aang heard Sokka's shouts of disagreement from far behind him.

Aang turned his back to Kang-Dae, beginning to walk towards his friends when he saw the glow of red energy behind him as the prince tried to attack him. Aang spun around and thrusted his arms forward in a rage, blocking the energy with a shield of white energy that he learned to form while training with Guru Pathik, "I warned you! But you!" He swung his left arm around in a punch covered in a ball of the same white energy, "Wouldn't!" His right arm did a similar attack, sending a ball of blue energy in Kang-Dae's direction, "Listen!" He thrust his arms forward again, palms forward and fingers stretched out as a massive wave of Kang-Dae's own red energy surged forward.

Kang-Dae tried to block each of the attacks, attempting to conceal his shock from seeing Aang energybend. The wave was too much for him though, pushing him far back against the same tree he had hit before. He hit his head, causing his vision to blur as he looked up, seeing flashes of bright colors shine brightly in his face.

He registered the pain his body took in as each brightly colored blast smashed against him. He gritted his teeth, and as his vision cleared slightly, he noticed Aang walking menacingly towards him.

Sword still in hand, Kang-Dae raised up his arm in defense, but Aang sprinted towards him, knowing he was too hurt to move at the moment. He grasped Kang-Dae's wrist as he held his sword tightly. Aang stared down at the sword, the same possessed look in his eyes as he felt the power calling to him. He didn't feel right, he know not to be entranced by the sword. But…there was just so much power in it…he couldn't help but be absorbed into its power.

He squeezed the prince's wrist until his hand dropped the sword. Kang-Dae tried to grab for the sword, but Aang shoved his hand down against the ground.

Aang bit his lip, resisting the temptation to grab the sword, and he stared down at Kang-Dae. Still too weak now to move, he stared off towards the sword, trying to grab it to no avail.

Aang laughed, still slightly overcome by the power of the sword, "How does it feel, Kang-Dae, so have so little power that you can't even move? Turns out you're weaker than I expected….Just a few direct hits…that's all it took."

Kang-Dae gritted his teeth at Aang, glaring at him in anger, silent.

"I bet you…have a lot of power…hidden inside you…from that sword…." Aang mumbled, still staring at it. Inside, he was trying to pull himself away, but he couldn't move.

Aang silently moved his right hand to Kang-Dae's forehead, and his left hand to the prince's chest. He closed his eyes and concentrated, ignoring his conscience that told him to not energybend Kang-Dae.

Quickly, Aang's blue energy shown out bright, and Kang-Dae's dark green energy battled against it. Due to his skill at energybending, Kang-Dae fought hard and very occasionally, his energy started to overlap Aang's.

Kang-Dae knew that Aang was strong though, on this inside and out, and knew he'd have to think of something fast.

While being energybent, you can hardly move, and if you do, you feel so heavy that there could be liquid lead in your veins. Kang-Dae fought against this, his desire to defeat Aang driving him to lift up his right arm, and slowly, shakily, he grasped the handle of Aang's dagger.

Aang hardly noticed Kang-Dae as he did this, so he made no move to block the attack.

Kang-Dae positioned the dagger towards Aang, and with much exertion, he pierced Aang on the side of his abdomen. The reaction was immediate. Aang lurched backwards, letting out a cry of pain as he stumbled backwards. Kang-Dae regained enough strength to stand up and get a tight grip on his sword.

He went into action, taking quick slices in Aang's direction, which Aang hardly managed to fend off. The young Avatar held one arm tightly against his bleeding wound, teeth gritted as he used his other arm to shoot small blasts of air to fend off Kang-Dae.

The energybender prince laughed crazily as he ran towards Aang.

The rest of the gaang bounded into action, sprinting towards the two to help Aang. Katara first ran to Aang.

_I can't move anymore, _Aang thought, tears slipping down his cheeks, _I've failed everyone again. _He fell down backwards, landing with a thud on the ground, _It hurts…so much…_

Katara immediately began crying in worry, "No!" She muttered over and over as she fell to her knees on the ground, "Don't do this to me! Not again!" She used her left arm to shakily collect water from the air, seeing as though her waterskins were all empty.

As she went to begin healing him, Aang passed out.

.

.

.

.

.

"_So…it's the sword's fault that Kang-Dae is so evil?"_

_._

_._

_._

"_Coud be. Though it is true that the swords dark power is absorbed by the wielder,"_

_._

_._

_._

"_If you must do anything destroy the sword…"_

_._

_._

_._

These thoughts coursed through Aangs head as he tried to focus on breathing in…and out…in….and out… Pain wracked his body, but he could tell that Katara was trying to heal him. His vision blurred out and in, and he was sure that he passed out a few times.

At first, Katara was right over him, her one good arm hastily trying to heal him.

Then, she was gone, but Aang could see flames and earth flying across the air as his friends fought against the madmen Kang-Dae.

Later, he opened his eyes and saw the dim sky above him. The mountains created strange shadows over everything and he tried to focus his mind. There was less commotion now, but he could still hear distant sounds of a battle raging on. He tried to sit up, but it sent a new wave of pain across his torso, and he fell back, unconscious once more.

The last time he woke up, Katara was running towards him. Her clothes were tattered and her hair was in tangled waves along her back. Blood seeped from a large cut on the left side of her forehead and she often tried to wipe it away from her eye. She fell to her knees next to Aang again, her eyes showed pain and worry, but also determination.

She pulled out new water from her waterskin, which must have been filled as Aang was unconscious. Where it came from, Aang had no idea.

Aang had newfound strength though, despite his deep wound. He sat up as quick as he dared and looked Katara right in the eyes, his eyebrows creased in determination, but his eyes showed worry.

Staring back at him, Katara wiped the blood from her forehead once more. As he looked at her, he noticed there were multiple bruises on her face and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Aang, you should be lying down, you're not healed fully yet…" She said in an unstable voice.

Aang looked to his left and saw his friends in similar conditions to Katara, still fighting the energybender prince. "No…I told you I'd end this. I know what I need to do now."

His steady voice shocked Katara, but she placed her hands on his shoulders anyways, saying, "No, you're hurt! I can't lose you again, Aang, I can't…"

"You're hurt too, Katara, and I don't want you or anyone else risking your lives to protect me," He said to her, "I just need you to do one thing for me…"

Katara stared at him, confused, but she nodded anyways, "What do you need me to do?"

"Just stay still…"

Concern showed greatly in Katara's eyes as she tried to predict what he was going to do next.

Her eyes widened as he placed his right hand on her head, and his left over her chest.

"No, Aang! Don't take my bending! What are you-!" Katara said to him in a panic.

His finger silenced her, "Shh….It's just your energy…just stay still….your bending is going to be fine…just…stay still."

As he placed his right hand back into position, Katara began to worry more. Suddenly, both of their bodies began to glow, hers a light purple, his a light blue. Their eyes glowed brightly and Katara could feel the stares coming from their friends and Kang-Dae.

Aang's blue energy started to absorb her energy, and as this happened, Katara could feel herself getting tired.

Quickly all of her energy was absorbed, and she fell backwards. Aang wrapped his arms around her before she fell and gently lowered her to the ground. Her eyes were just barely open and she stared at him silently, slowly breathing, as if she was about to go to sleep. Aang smiled sadly at her and leaned over her to set a soft kiss upon her lips.

He stood up and untied his belt from his waist and removed his robe-like sash. He kneeled down beside Katara and tied his belt securely around her forehead to staunch some of the blood that was seeping from her wound.

He folded his sash so that it was about 6 inches wide and he wrapped it around his middle where his wound was. Despite the severity of the wound, after Katara healed some of it and he received a lot of energy, the pain wasn't very intense.

He walked up to his friends, who, after they got rid of their shock at what just took place, continued to fight Kang-Dae to keep him away from Aang.

Aang took them one by one, starting with the kids, and took their energy from them. He wasn't stealing their bending, just all of the energy they had to keep moving and fighting, the kind that gradually wears off throughout the day. Soon, only Zuko remained, and despite his confusion at what was going on, fought bravely against the energybender prince.

Fully awake, and with a staying power that could keep him going for a week with no rest, Aang bounded into action, flying feet first to kick Kang-Dae in the stomach. The impact of Aang's boots against his stomach send him lurching backwards. Aang also sent waves of air in his direction to keep him away for a while.

He ran up to Zuko, who was catching his breath, and said, "You're all that's left, Zuko, I need your energy to defeat him."

Zuko sighed, "So that's what you've been doing. Getting us out of a job and using our energy for us?" He looked at Aang with an annoyed expression, "Fine, but do it quick, you are bleeding really badly. I honestly have no idea how you are still standing."

Aang refused to look down at his wound, in fear that it would make him dizzy or scared, but he gave Zuko a firm nod and got to work taking his energy from him.

The clearing was suddenly very quiet. He looked about his friends, all of them lying down, too out of energy to move or fast asleep. Aang had never felt so alone, until Kang-Dae came flying towards him, sword poised and ready to attack. Aang knew what to do. His main goal was to get rid of the sword, not Kang-Dae.

Standing firmly on the ground before Kang-Dae, he poised his metal covered staff to block the blow. As soon as the sword and staff met, Aang focused on all of the cosmic energy in the world. Quickly, his eyes glowed, blinding Kang-Dae for a split second because of it's contrast against the setting sun. One hand gripping his staff and fending off Kang-Dae's sword, and one hand trying to grab it.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Aang got a grip on the long handle of the sword, just below where Kang-Dae held it.

Suddenly, the sword set out a flare of colorful energy. Kang-Dae held strong against it, but his eyes suddenly widened in shock. Pain registered on his face and Aang could see that red energy was crawling up his arm from the sword. In a panic, Kang-Dae tried to thrust the sword from his grasp, but his arm was locked around it. As the energy climbed up his arm, he found himself unable to move. Soon, the red energy had encased his entire body, and he lay motionless on the grassy floor of the clearing as it consumed him. The light unexpectedly went out though, and Kang-Dae lay there, breathing gasp-like breaths as he tried to get up.

The sword had stolen his energy.

The prince's hand lay limply open, the sword resting on his palm where he had once been gripping it tightly.

Aang exited the Avatar State, shocked that he hadn't really done much, and timidly walked towards Kang-Dae, thinking, _That can't really be it…I hardly did anything…what happened?_

Aang stared at the sword in confusion; he walked up to it and nervously nudged the blade of the sword with his foot. Quickly, Aang regretted that decision, because the sword shot out into the air hovering eerily in front of him as swirls of red and black energy circled it.

He backed up slowly but after a few steps he found himself unable to move, his arm moved without him controlling it and reached up to grab the handle of the sword. As soon as his flesh made contact with the sword, a rapid wind formed around them and Aang's eyes locked on the blade as it spoke to him in an eerie spiritual voice.

_You have a far greater power now than I could have ever imagined…I intend to use this to my advantage…_

Aang couldn't move at all now, and he gritted his teeth as sweat formed on his brow.

A familiar red glow began crawling up his arm and all he could register was an intense burning sensation. He fell to his knees, though it was not his doing. His eyes were wide with fear and pain and he cried out as it crawled up his arm.

Aang suddenly only heard the voice of Guru Pathik in his head, telling him what he had to do…if anything.

_Destroy the sword…_

_._

_Destroy the sword…_

_._

_If only I knew how!, _Aang shouted in his mind, but then he came to a realization, he did know how.

Energybending.

Aang did his best to not think about the pain in his arm, but try and find the center of power in the sword. After concentrating for a few moments, he found it exactly where he thought it would be, right in the center of the handle, where a large red glass orb sat, engraved with designs of dragons and ancient writing.

By then, the red energy had consumed his right arm up to his shoulder and he gritted his teeth, remembering the pain. He focused on his own energy and tried to connect the two so that he could fight back.

The pain was so intense though, he could hardly concentrate, but his determination was strong and he continued. His body began to glow and the red and blue energies fought against eachother.

Three minutes of this and Aang's mind was fried. His energy was draining fast, but the red energy had had at least fallen back to his elbow. He suddenly thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the energy consumed him… He was too tired to think straight and it only took a glimpse of Katara out of the corner of his eye to convince him otherwise.

He wanted nothing more than for her to be safe, so he focused on that thought. The red energy quickly began to decease to the point where the entire sword was blue.

_Only a few seconds more, Aang!, _He told himself, _You can do this!_

And he did.

The sword was under so much pressure that it cracked in two, releasing swarms of light shooting out in all directions. As soon as Aang had control of him body again, he grasped at his arm in fear, dropping the sword. He expected there to be a large burn on his hand and arm, but all he felt was a tingling sensation that quickly depleted.

His energy was gone though, he could hardly move. The full pain of his wound hit him like a ton of bricks and he crawled over to Kang-Dae, who lay motionless before him. There was something strange about him though. All of the blood had drained from his face, he looked almost as if he was rotting. Aang almost looked away in disgust, until he realized Kang-Dae was trying to speak to him. The prince tried to grab Aang's hand, probably for support though.

Aang stared at the disintegrating young man and his suspicions were confirmed that yes, Kang-Dae was the son of the first prince of the energybenders, meaning that Kang-Dae's father was that prince. After thousands upon thousands of years of not aging because of the sword that gave youth, this boy would turn to dust because of his true age.

Aang grasped Kang-Dae's hand because we wasn't heartless, and the prince gasped out, "I'm not…'s bad….as you th-think…-vatar….Pl…se…forgive….me.." He passed out, as the rest of his body disintegrated into dust. Aang quickly looked away so that he wouldn't have to see it happen. It would surely give him nightmares for the rest of his life.

He looked back and blew off the dust from his hand. He crawled slowly over to Katara who was completely unconscious now. He looked down at his wound and saw that his entire abdomen below the wound and his left thigh were completely covered in blood.

He had seen enough nightmares for a lifetime, and with that, everything went dark.

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The faint smell of Chrysanthemums and other fall flowers brought Aang to his senses. He felt warm, very warm. It smelled like a nice, cool, fall day, and Aang greatly wanted to be outside. Suddenly, a cool sensation spread across his forehead, and he creased his eyebrows slightly, muttering a small moan.

"Aang?" A soft female voice spoke to him, "Are you going to wake up today?"

He didn't have much strength, but he did want to find out who was speaking to him, who the angel was. He was sure that he was dead and in the spirit world, but he could feel some slight pain around his stomach, and that made him realize that he couldn't be a spirit.

He heard the angel sigh, and mutter sadly to herself, "I guess not…"

_Katara._

The name came to him suddenly and he greatly wanted to wake up. Memories flooded into his mind and his eyes slid open, light pouring into the slit of is eyes, causing him to shut them again.

His determination to see this angel named Katara drove him to open them again, and as his eyes focused, he saw her. Hair combed, thoroughly clean, and in a soft yellow robe, she sat there. She looked like she was about to cry, and Aang greatly wanted to sit up and hug her and make the bad things go away. That is, until he realized that he was making her cry.

She hadn't yet realized that his eyes were open and he was awake. His limbs tingled, they had obviously not been in use for quite a while. His arms were laying limply over his chest and he slowly moved his right one to touch her hand.

Katara's eyes closed and she let out a soft whimper. A few moments later, she felt the airbender's fingers stroke the back of her hand and she jumped slightly. Her eyes shot open and she immediately looked at Aang, who was grinning at her tiredly.

"My angel…" He muttered, staring at her dreamily, "You're always there when I awaken."

Katara's eyes filled with tears and she jumped at him, hugging him around his shoulders as tight as she could with one arm. Aang couldn't breathe, but he loved her and was glad she was there anyways. A few seconds later she pulled away, "I-I thought you'd never wake up again!" Her eyes were full of concern. That's when he noticed the sling draped around her shoulder, cradling her right arm, which was in a cast.

He looked sadly away from it, but then gave her a soft smile, "I'll always wake up for you."

Katara smiled sadly and wiped away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

"How long have I been asleep? Your head wound is completely healed it seems." Aang asked in a raspy voice from lack of use.

Katara sighed, "It's been almost a month…"

This shocked Aang, he thought it was only a week or so, but no, it was a month of his life. Gone. "Really?" He asked, fearing.

"Yeah…" Katara attempted to wipe away the remainder of the tears in her eyes, but new ones formed.

"Man…that's longer than last time…." Aang spoke aloud to himself, "At that one killed me!"

Katara let out a huff of breath as a small laugh, closing her eyes, and shaking her head with a small smile on her face. "I'm just so glad you're back…" She hugged him again, nuzzling her head in the crook of his neck as he stroked her back.

"I'm glad to be back."

A few minutes passed where neither of them said anything, and just embraced, never wanting to let go. Aang had to break the silence though, "Where are we anyways? What happened after I passed out?"

Katara sighed and pulled away, "I can tell you what has happened since we woke up, I guess. I woke up and it was nighttime, I looked next to me and almost screamed when I saw you. You were lying in a very scary pool of blood…" She took a second to shake off the thought, "I quickly got up, but it was hard because all of my energy was gone…" She gave Aang a slightly annoyed look, which he just laughed at nervously, "Well…okay, I did scream when I saw you, and that kind of woke everyone else up. They came to my side and we started trying to help you, because, quite frankly, you looked dead… We saw the sword broken and a pile of unexplainable ashes next to it, so we just quickly buried them and took off here. We're at the Southern Air Temple. We thought it'd be a nice place to take you to heal."

"Really? Well, it is a nice surprise, thank you." Aang said softly.

"You're very welcome. I like it here too, it's very nice." Katara smiled.

Aang smiled at her in response, "Should we go see everyone else then?"

"Yeah," Katara said, standing up, "Good plan. I haven't really talked to any of them in a while anyways…I've been kind of distant…"

This made Aang frown in concern, but he tried to shake it off and focus on happy thoughts. He slid his legs from under the covers and noticed that he was only in his undergarments. Katara immediately blushed, "I-I didn't want you to get dirty being your filthy pants."

Aang smirked, "Then why didn't you put them back on when they were clean?"

Katara's eyes widened in embarrassment and her entire face was flushed red, "Aang!"

Aang laughed, giving her his trademark smile, "You know I'm teasing you, right, Sweetie?"

Katara hesitantly grinned too, nervously laughing as well, "Heh…yeah, I know."

Aang pulled the rest of the covers off and stood up, wobbling a little bit at first, but then regaining his balance. Katara opened a closet in the room and with a small laugh she pulled out a very familiar piece of clothing.

"Haha!" Aang laughed gleefully, "My airbender training clothes!"

"I don't suppose you want to wear them, do you?" Katara laughed.

"Nahh, I haven't worn them since I was a kid." Aang smiled.

Katara, remembering a small conversation they had a while back, said in response, "You still are a kid!"

Aang laughed, "I see what you did there."

Katara smiled and continued to rummage through the closet as Aang looked down at his abdomen, which was encased by a thick layer of bandages. "Hmm…I guess this makes us twins then, doesn't it?"

Katara turned to face him and noticed that he was referencing to their similar wounds, "I guess so," She look down at her stomach in memory, but then she laughed, "Wait, no we're not, I have one more scar than you, I win." She didn't know why that made her "win", but she smiled proudly anyways.

Aang laughed, "Noo, I have my lightning scar!"

Katara grinned embarrassed, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that…"

They shared an awkward moment of silence, staring at each other with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Suddenly, Aang coughed purposefully to break it, and Katara shook out of her trance and said, "Oh, yeah, right." She disappeared into the closet and quickly pulled out a small set of elder monk robes and said, "So, will these do?"

Aang laughed and nodded.

Together, they got him dressed and using teamwork, they made it down the stairs. They greeted everyone and had lunch. Several more weeks passed and Katara's arm was fully healed, as well as Aang's wound. Zuko had to head back to the Fire Nation or else they would have to take away his right to being Fire Lord. He took Mai with him.

Eventually, Aang found himself leaning against the railing of his room's balcony, staring out at the far off sunset. Katara leaned slightly against him and they stood there silently for a little bit.

Aang broke the silence a few minutes later, "So, does this mean everything's over and we can just live now?" He looked over at his love.

Katara grinned, "Nope. We've got one more thing to do."

Aang grinned as well, "And what is that, sweetie?"

She smirked at him.

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A few days later, they found themselves standing on top of a snowy mountain, the four-winged black animals strewn about them in no particular fashion.

"I promised Usagi I'd take her penguin sledding. So, by golly, we had to go penguin sledding!" Katara laughed, as she watched the children race down the mountain on their penguins.

Aang laughed as well. Toph had refused to go down alone, but the kids were more than willing to go with her. In the long run, everyone was having a great time.

As Aang looked down the steep hill, he laughed softly, turning to Katara.

"What do you say? One more go? To start and end these crazy adventures?" Aang grinned his trademark smile and she nodded.

As she smiled though, she added, "Though, anywhere with you is an adventure."

Aang laughed, "Then this can just serve as the start to a whole new series of adventures."

Katara grinned and mounted her penguin, Aang did the same, "Alrighty, Mister Avatar, I'm going to beat you this time though." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, really now?" Aang laughed, closing his eyes for a split second, but opening them very quickly as he heard her depart, "HEY! No fair!" He laughed, watching her speed down the mountain.

He took off as well, knowing fully aware that he was going to let her win anyways.

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Or was he?

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**THE END…**

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**OR IS IT?**

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**Yeah, okay it is. **

**A/N – And so, after what…2 years…7 months…and 5 days…This crazy charade is over. There will be an epilogue, but that pretty much just connects it to Korra, and I'll probably just post that tomorrow =) **

**Please don't yell at me for the length of the wait. **

**I am aware. **

**Good and bad things occurred during the 7 month and 5 day wait you all experienced. **

**I blame Caroline. **

**Jk, I love you. **

**Bah. **

**Maybe you all will just love the fact that this chapter is 16, 543 words long…and forgive me then…**

**Just forgive me and be glad its over. **

**Or sad, like I will be in about 2 hours when the realization hits. **

**Anyways, please review even though you probably all died in the 7-month hiatus between my last update and now….I still lurve you all, and I promise that the next time I post a long story like this, I will finish the entire freaking thing before posting the first chapter. That way I could have consistent but very short breaks in-between chapters…heh.**

**I love you all. **

**I'll break out the full list of thank-you's in the epilogue as compensation for my 7 month and 5 day betrayal. **

**Thank you all for supporting me in this long journey of a story this has been, and I'll see you next time =)**

**Bai. **

**Or for Caroline. **

**DEPLOUUUUUU!**


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